Redemption
by Celtic Cat
Summary: When a Goa'uld asks the Stargate team for asylum, should they take her at face value or view her as the enemy? Please read and review. Now complete.
1. Far Far Away

6

Redemption

Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will own any of the characters in SG-1. I'm just taking them out to play for a while.

To Kate who wanted a break from Angel, and to Ernie, the biggest SG-1 fan that I know

Far, Far away

Evree peered cautiously between the leaves of the tree in which she crouched, hiding. She could see the Jaffa, combing the area, searching, for her she had no doubt. But it was a very tall tree. She did not believe that they would be able to sense her presence. She resigned herself to waiting in her tree until the searchers gave up and moved elsewhere. At this point in time, she wasn't quite sure what she would do next, for she was certain that Ahriman would have the gate guarded even more closely than the fliers, and she'd nearly been re-captured acquiring that piece of information.

"I promise you, Draylea," she whispered, although speech of any sort was not really necessary to communicate with her host. "I shall kill us both before I allow them to take us back to Ahriman." At one point, Evree had thought of simply leaving her host and dying, that Draylea might live. But she knew that it would not buy her host any significant amount of time. At best, Draylea would become a slave again. More likely though, Ahriman would kill her out of pique at not having Evree to torment anymore.

In this thought, Goa'uld and host were in complete accord. They both preferred the shelter of death over what would await them should they once more fall into Ahriman's possession. Death was by far the less frightening prospect.

Evree glimpsed through the branches again. Would those Jaffa never leave the area?

&&&&&&&&&&

Colonel Jack O'Neill cautiously peered over the rock he was crouched behind, then ducked back hastily as one of the Jaffa fired his staff weapon at him.

"They're still there," he remarked unnecessarily to his companion. "I thought the Tok'ra said the Jaffa on this planet were ripe for revolution."

"Evidently their intelligence was faulty," Teal'c replied, his rumbling bass voice unruffled by emotion. "Or perhaps there is a discrepancy between what the Tok'ra would call 'ripe for revolution' and what we would."

Jack glanced at his friend in exasperation. The two of them had come here alone, intending to confirm the reports of resistance and to offer an alliance, and now they were running for their lives, and the rebel Jaffa at his side acted as if it were of no more consequence than a stubbed toe.

"I don't suppose you have any bright ideas how to get out of this mess?" he muttered irritably. O'Neill was always irritable when he was vastly outnumbered and there didn't appear to be a snowball's chance of getting out alive, never mind that it had happened so often, and that he was still alive and kicking, that he should be used to it by now.

Teal'c didn't answer. He was surveying the landscape with a pair of binoculars, a puzzled frown furrowing his brow. "O'Neill," he said slowly. "I do not believe that this is more than a handful of Ahriman's Jaffa. Considering the prices on both our heads, does it not seem strange to you that they are not here in force?"

"Does it really matter?" O'Neill snapped. "There's more than enough of them to keep us from getting to the gate without reinforcements. Which we can't even call for." The last was said bitterly. It wasn't until they had realized that all was not well on PX549 that they had realized they were unable to communicate with Stargate command. Or indeed, anyone at all.

"We are over an hour past due to report in," the big Jaffa pointed out with what seemed to his comrade to be a preternatural calm. "I am sure that General Hammond is even now planning a rescue."

Jack loosed a quick volley of gunfire at their opposition before the return fire made it necessary for him to duck back under cover. He hated having to be rescued. The only thing that was worse than needing to be rescued, was needing to be rescued and not being rescued.

This day really sucked.

&&&&&&&

And still the Jaffa would not leave. Ahriman must want her back very badly, but then, Evree already knew that. But she hadn't thought that he'd be this dedicated or single-minded in retrieving her immediately. She would have thought he would attend to whatever disturbance had caused the commotion that had facilitated her escape, first. She wondered what had caused the alarms to be raised. This planet was far from the hub of the galaxy's activity, one reason that she had initially chosen it. She simply couldn't imagine that anyone else would want it badly enough to fight for it. But then, she had never thought anyone would challenge her claim to it either, a gross miscalculation which she now bitterly regretted.

Evree gave a thought to seeking out the attackers, if attackers there were, and offering an alliance. No, not an alliance, her recently acquired self-honesty asserted. To beg for their protection. If it were another Goa'uld attacking, and Evree couldn't imagine anyone else who would dare, then it would be risky in the extreme. Another of her kind might merely summarily dispatch her. But even that was far the better option than what she would receive at Ahriman's hands. As soon as the Jaffa moved away, if they ever did, she would try to make her way to the gate, almost certainly the source of the disturbance of Ahriman's peace. And there also, would be either assistance or death.

At this particular time, Evree was not sure that there was a difference between the two.

&&&&&&&

"Sir, request permission to go to PX549." Major Samantha Carter sounded calm, precisely militarily correct as always, but there was worry in her eyes. "Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c should have reported in nearly two hours ago."

"The fact has not escaped my attention, Major," General Hammond responded wearily. Military operation though it was, the SG-1 team had been with him so long that they were more like extended family. Sometimes he had to keep a tight rein on himself to remember to treat the team in the proper manner. To make his decisions as a commanding officer rather than as a friend. "But I'm not about to send you, or anybody else in there blind when we haven't heard from O'Neill and Teal'c. And there may be a perfectly innocent reason why they haven't reported back in yet." Hammond's heart wasn't in that last remark. He certainly couldn't think of a perfectly innocent reason why two seasoned soldiers hadn't reported to base in a timely manner.

"So we're just going to sit here and do nothing?" Daniel demanded. While Dr. Jackson was, and had been for some years now, a member of a military operation, he was still a scientist, with a scientist's need to question everything. Although in this case, Hammond couldn't really blame him. Daniel was family too.

"No, Dr. Jackson," the general answered. "We're not going to sit here and do nothing. But neither am I about to send in more people when two very able and professional men have not made their scheduled contact." He strode through the hall with Carter and Jackson respectfully if curiously dogging his heels. He made his way to the control room. "Open a wormhole to PX549 and send in a m.a.l.p.," he ordered the crew on duty, who immediately went into a flurry of activity to obey. "Let's see if we can find out what's going on before we risk any more of our people."

&&&&&&&

As the shadows began to lengthen, the Jaffa at last began to draw back. Evree made her way down the tree and began to make the trek towards the gate. She was torn between hoping that there would be someone there to meet her, even though her reception by Ahriman's enemies was uncertain, and hoping that the gate lay clear, so that she might dial herself far, far from here. Somewhere where Ahriman could not find her. But she grudgingly acknowledged that Ahriman needed to be stopped. And it had already long since been proven that that was something that she could not do alone. She needed help. She just didn't know if help was there to be had.

&&&&&&

"I can't tell if they're still there or not," Jack grumbled softly. "It's getting to be as dark as a woodchuck's..,"

"Silence," Teal'c ordered softly. He thought he heard someone approaching, but O'Neill's voice had broken the moment. As the quiet descended again, he heard the sound again. He reached out and briefly touched O'Neill's shoulder in warning, and held his weapon at the ready. The faint sounds came closer. One of the attacking Jaffa? A wild animal? Or the long hoped for reinforcements? Or perhaps even, something totally unanticipated. Best to be prepared no matter which of the possibilities it was.

Jack quietly positioned himself to back up Teal'c, no matter what. The Jaffa's ears were sharper than his, and he heard nothing, but he trusted Teal'c's senses. But this waiting in the dark for something to jump out at them was making him edgy. Which was another reason why he let the Jaffa take the lead. Too antsy, too much time spent waiting. If it were help arriving, better to have a Jaffa with his superior reflexes go first, and minimize the possibility of shooting their rescuers. Or of not shooting their enemies.

Both men were nearly startled out of their shoes when a voice, soft, barely audible, but definitely that of a Goa'uld came out of the darkness.

"Please don't shoot," the voice pleaded, and indeed, it contained little or none of the typical Goa'uld hauteur. "I would beg asylum from you."

&&&&&&

A Jaffa went flying across the large, opulently decorated room.

"Incompetent fool!" the Goa'uld shouted in a towering rage. "Nearly a legion of trained Jaffa were unable to find one unarmed woman?" Another Jaffa went the way of the first, as Ahriman gave vent to his rage.

The assembled Jaffa stood in fear of what their god might do over their failure. But Ahriman seemed to have gotten the worst of it out of his system. For the moment. And he hadn't actually killed anyone.., yet. Those he had chastised would be a long time healing, though, even with the help of their symbiotes.

"You." Ahriman picked out a Jaffa at random. "Explain why you failed your god."

"Oh, Lord," the Jaffa replied, eyes still firmly fastened on the floor at his feet. "Is not Evree a god, even as you yourself are?" It was a gamble, but it was probably the safest bet. There might be varying degrees of godhood, as it were, but it was a given that any god was more powerful than even a Jaffa.

Ahriman caught himself just before he dispatched the Jaffa. If he went and killed them all off, he'd have no armed force. And it wasn't as if the Jaffa had been disrespectful. But first the intrusion and now Evree's disappearance had put him in a foul mood. He needed some release for his hostilities, which he usually did on Evree, and it galled him considerably that she wasn't there so he could do so. And he grudgingly had to admit that he was impressed that she had been able to evade the search parties. He wouldn't have thought that she could run far enough fast enough. But with all methods of egress from the planet heavily guarded, it would only be a matter of time until Evree was back in his power. And once he had Evree back, she would pay for her miscalculation. And continue to pay. He had kept her alive for a long time and intended to keep doing so. Nothing so merciful as death for her. But where was she?

&&&&&&&

"She's a Goa'uld, Teal'c," Jack argued. He didn't trust Goa'uld, any Goa'uld. Never had and never would. It went against the grain.

"I am fully aware of that, O'Neill," Teal'c replied evenly. He was no more willing to take a Goa'uld on faith than his companion, but he was curious. And he had already determined that she was unarmed. He was fairly confident that he and O'Neill could handle a lone, unarmed Goa'uld. And at the moment, she was offering no resistance. If nothing else, she was a possible source of information, if the truth could be sifted out from the plethora of lies that almost inevitably came from a Goa'uld.

"I will do anything that you require of me," Evree said, not for the first time. And while she couldn't blame them for their suspicions, she truly did mean it. She was willing to go to any length to avoid falling into Ahriman's clutches again. But other than continuing to behave in a pacific manner, she had no way to convince the two men, either human, or Jaffa, of her sincerity.

"That's easy enough for you to say," O'Neill pointed out. "But how do we know that you're not simply the bait in a trap?"

"I have no proof," Evree admitted. "All I can do is help you in any way possible. But I am afraid that my resources are severely limited. Ahriman has everything that was once mine." Despite her best efforts, fear, despair and fatigue accomplished what Ahriman had been unable to over the countless decades, and a lone tear trickled down her cheek.

O'Neill found his prejudices begin to waver. If asked, he would have stated categorically that Goa'uld were incapable of any of the softer emotions. He had certainly never seen one cry. And he had a deeply ingrained feeling against letting a woman cry without doing something to remedy the situation.

Teal'c was also impressed. He had interacted with Goa'uld far longer than O'Neill ever had, and he too had never seen one cry. It did not immediately win his trust any more than it did O'Neill's, but it planted a seed of doubt as to whether or not this Goa'uld was an immediate threat. Or a threat at all.

A crackling sound came from both men's comm units, and all three of them jumped, the awkward moment dispersed. But nothing but static issued from the devices.

"O'Neill here," Jack said into his, hoping that whatever defect had afflicted them had miraculously repaired itself. But there was no answer but more static.

"I believe that Ahriman has a field around the planet which disrupts communications," Evree offered cautiously. She must not only cooperate with them, but offer them all aid possible. For herself and Draylea.

"Lovely," Jack groused. He looked around in the darkness, which the light of three quarter moons did very little to alleviate. "Teal'c, unless you hear anyone else beating around in the underbrush, I suggest that we make our way back to the gate. If that was a rescue party, we'll meet them on the way."

"I hear no one, O'Neill," the Jaffa assured him. Without any pre-arranged agreement, the three of them set off. Teal'c in the lead, Evree in the middle and O'Neill bringing up the rear. Heading for the gate, and, hopefully, safety.

&&&&&&&

Everyone peered intently at the screen, looking at the landscape as seen through the m.a.l.p.'s camera. Night was falling on the planet's surface, but the m.a.l.p. had infrared. At the moment, all seemed still, except for a couple of Jaffa, who seemed to be guarding the gate. That was not altogether a surprise, although there hadn't been a guard there when they'd checked before sending Jack and Teal'c through. But were the Jaffa acting on the orders of their 'god'? Or were they rebels and allies? There was no way to tell from just looking.

Then, one of the Jaffa spotted the m.a.l.p. He directed his partner's attention to it.

The last thing they saw at Stargate command was the two Jaffa raising their staff weapons. And that in itself was enough to make one thing abundantly clear.

Something had gone wrong. But how wrong, they had yet to find out.

&&&&&&

Evree put a tentative hand on Teal'c's shoulder. "There are Jaffa guarding the gate," she whispered. That was all that was needed. O'Neill took cover and pulled Evree after him while Teal'c went on ahead to check out her story.

Evree unsuccessfully tried to suppress a shiver. The night had grown chill, and she wasn't attired for it. It was part of Ahriman's ongoing mistreatment of her. She was allowed only the barest minimum to wear, as a form of humiliation, for Ahriman did not settle for mere physical abuse, but worked on every level.

Jack didn't even think twice until he'd already taken off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. The years of training that his mother had given him went back farther than his military training.

Evree looked at him curiously. She had felt the animosity radiating off O'Neill ever since they'd met. And yet, here he was showing concern for her comfort. She couldn't puzzle it out, and realized that she didn't have the leisure to ponder on it now. "Thank you," she murmured. It was little enough to do, and a show of good manners might help where a more impressive show of strength might not.

"Don't mention it," Jack said with heartfelt sincerity. He really didn't want her to mention it. She was a Goa'uld. He shouldn't care if she froze to death, although it was far from being that cold. He was saved from further awkwardness by the sound of a zat firing twice, followed in short order by Teal'c's return.

"The guard has been neutralized," the big warrior reported. "May I suggest that we use the gate while it remains unguarded?"

"Sounds like a plan," O'Neill agreed. He helped Evree to her feet, and he didn't even notice it this time.

The three of them made their way to the gate. To Earth. And safety.


	2. Know Your Enemy

13

Know Your Enemy

Evree sat patiently, being quietly miserable. If she had thought the attire that Ahriman had selected for her was humiliating, then this paper gown with no back was far beyond humiliating. She suppressed a sigh. She couldn't blame the humans for being either curious or cautious. And she supposed that from their point of view it was entirely necessary. It was also necessary that she submit to whatever they wished since she had thrown herself upon their mercy.

Across the room, a conference was being held in muted voices.

"Well, she's healthy enough," Dr. Frasier remarked. "But there is an awful lot of scarring on her. I would have thought that a sarcophagus would have prevented that."

"It should have," Sam replied musingly. "Unless the wounds were already healed before she got in the sarcophagus."

"For all that Goa'uld have a penchant for young, beautiful hosts," Daniel put in. "She's showing some signs of age. Signs that shouldn't be there with the regular use of a sarcophagus. Unless she chose her host at an older age than most of them do."

"We could stand here and speculate all day," General Hammond put in. "But I think we'd be better off questioning her." He turned to Janet Frasier. "There's nothing in the way of physical infirmity that would prevent us from interrogating her?"

Janet shook her head. "As I said, physically, she's healthy." She got a thoughtful look on her face. "But if I didn't know better, from some of the reactions I got from her..," The Doctor paused, looking for just the right way to put it. "Well, if she were human, I'd say that she was the victim of long-term abuse."

"Who would dare to abuse a Goa'uld?" Teal'c asked sensibly. "They are difficult enough to kill without keeping them alive to torment them. And most Jaffa would die before harming one."

"Another Goa'uld?" Jack suggested. As all eyes turned towards him, he shrugged. "Well, it's not like any of them are bosom buddies or anything. Supposing that there's another Goa'uld who has issues with her?"

It was Teal'c's turn to look thoughtful. "It would be possible," he muttered, half to himself. "A Jaffa in the service of another Goa'uld would feel no loyalty to her, but only to his own 'god'."

"Dr. Frasier," Hammond broke in. "You haven't said yes or no yet. Is the subject fit to be interrogated?"

Frasier sighed. "If she were human," she replied. "I'd say no. But I don't know how bad the emotional damage is, or what her tolerance is. And I do know that we need answers." She looked over at her patient, who sat on the edge of the examining table, looking at her surroundings idly, but with no real curiosity. Finally, she came to a decision. "I'd like to monitor the interrogation, if I may."

"To what purpose?" Hammond asked. It wasn't standard operating procedure, but there were exceptions to every rule.

"If the questioning gets to be too much for her or sends her into some sort of emotional trauma I could be there with a tranquilizer," Frasier answered. "I know she's a Goa'uld. But somehow, she still manages to project an air of fragility. And if we're going to want to keep her around for a while, we're going to need to look out for her well-being."

Hammond nodded his assent. "Bring her to the conference room as soon as you've gotten her dressed then, Dr." he ordered. "The rest of you can meet me there as well."

"The conference room," Jack said slowly. "Why not an interrogation room?"

"With the exception of Dr. Frasier, we'll all be armed," Hammond stated. "And since Evree came to us of her own free will and surrendered, I won't treat her like a criminal as long as she behaves herself."

Teal'c came as close to looking shocked as he ever did. "Does that mean that you do not intend to put a guard on her then?"

"She'll be guarded," Hammond assured him. "For her safety as well as ours."

&&&&&&&

The Jaffa marched into Ahriman's presence with all alacrity, but on a metaphorical level, he was dragging his feet. He had bad news to deliver to his god, and he knew that it was generally Ahriman's habit to take out his anger on the bearer of bad news.

"Report," Ahriman ordered, his voice echoing off the walls of the chamber. Clad in silks and satins, with jewelry adorning his throat, wrists and shining black hair, Ahriman looked soft. But none that knew him would make that mistake. There were no soft Goa'uld.

"Lord." The Jaffa stopped to swallow, trying to win the war with his nerves. "The two Jaffa guarding the gate are dead. And we have still found no trace of Evree."

"Had the gate been activated?" Ahriman demanded, reining in his temper with difficulty. He needed this one alive. At least until he had gotten all the information that the Jaffa was in possession of.

The Jaffa nodded. "Yes, Lord, it had," he replied miserably. He was going to die and die slowly, he was certain of it. But while he lived, he still had a duty to his god. "There was also a strange device sitting in front of the gate. It is being brought here even as we speak."

"What sort of device?" Ahriman queried. His rage was beginning to fade as curiosity took over.

"It is totally unfamiliar to us, Lord," the Jaffa replied. "But perhaps with your superior knowledge, you will know what it is."

"Have it brought to me immediately," Ahriman ordered. Almost as an afterthought he added, "And continue the search for Evree. Just because the gate was activated does not necessarily mean that she went through it."

"It shall be as my god desires," answered the Jaffa, bowing and scraping his way out of Ahriman's presence and awed by his good fortune that he should still be alive to do so.

&&&&&&&

Everyone was assembled in the conference room when Dr. Frasier entered with Evree in tow. The Goa'uld looked far different now than when she had entered Stargate Command through the gate, or even when she sat clad in a paper hospital gown in medical. Frasier had tended the cuts and scrapes that she'd acquired in her flight from Ahriman and his Jaffa, and she had been allowed to bathe. Shimmering chocolate-brown hair hung nearly to her knees, and the military issue clothing seemed out of place on her china-doll form.

Hammond beckoned her to a seat at the far end of the table from him, and Evree sat, with Janet taking a place next to her. The rest of SG-1 ranged around the table, watching expectantly and curiously.

Evree studied the faces of those assembled around the table. She had met them all, albeit in most cases fairly briefly, except for Dr. Frasier, Teal'c and the one they called O'Neill. She looked his way now and was surprised to see an expression of undisguised loathing on his face. On anyone else's, she would not have been surprised, for she knew the regard with which the Tau'ri held her people, nor could she blame them. But to see it from O'Neill, who had shown concern for her was.., unpleasant. But she did not have time to examine feelings now, either hers or his. She was here to answer questions, and she must be as cooperative and forthright as possible.

"Perhaps you could start by telling us how you came to be on PX549," Hammond suggested. Then, he realized that the alpha-numeric designation would mean nothing to her. "The planet we found you on," he amended.

"It was mine." A bald statement, and for the first time, they caught a glimpse of the typical Goa'uld attitude that they'd come to expect. "I held it for centuries. Then, about..," She stopped a moment, seeming to do some mental calculating. "One hundred and fifty years ago, Ahriman came. He said that he wanted the planet. I told him that it was mine, and I would not give it up. We fought over it, and not only did I lose my planet, but my freedom as well, for Ahriman made me a slave." She did not elaborate on what her precise role was as a slave. She did not want to have to tell these strangers how Ahriman had abased and abused her, the blows to her pride almost as painful as the physical ones.

"Why did Ahriman want the planet?" Sam asked. There was little available information on PX549, and anything Evree could add to it would be useful.

Evree shrugged. "I am not sure," she admitted. "Ahriman never enlightened me. He merely told me that he wanted it, and that he would have it."

"Why did you want it?" Jack asked bluntly. He was finding it difficult not to feel sorry for her, and that grated on his nerves, the thought of feeling sorry for a Goa'uld.

Evree shrugged again, or maybe it was that she found the unaccustomed clothing uncomfortable. "I liked it," she said simply. "I realize that you may not have had time to see much of it, but it is a beautiful planet. It was far from my contentious brethren, and with a small but adequate supply of naquadah. Not enough for anyone to go to war over, but enough and then some for me to run my household." She laughed bitterly. "I was so weary of all the fighting. All I really wanted was to be left alone."

"Do you have any idea why Ahriman made you a slave rather than killing you?" Teal'c asked. It was his experience that Goa'uld did not leave a fallen opponent alive.

Evree shook her head. "When I was brought before Ahriman the day that my forces fell," she answered. "I fully expected to be put to death. If I had had any idea what was in store for me, I would have prayed for it."

"Is he the one who is responsible for the scars on you?" Daniel asked quietly. "Or did your host already have them?"

Evree looked at him quizzically. "I am Goa'uld," she stated. "I would never have considered taking a host that was imperfect. No, the scars were put there by Ahriman. He would not even allow me to use the sarcophagus to heal unless he had damaged me so badly that if I did not use it I would die."

"Sounds like a prince of a guy," Jack remarked sarcastically. He knew that the Goa'uld were vindictive bastards, but he couldn't imagine hating anyone so much that he'd want to torture them on a regular basis for a century and a half. "You must have really pissed him off."

"I am surprised that you allowed him to torture you thus," Teal'c commented. "Would not most Goa'uld go dormant and let their host suffer the pain?"

Evree hung her head. "I did at first," she admitted in a small voice. "But after being a slave myself, I started to feel.., an empathy with Draylea. And it was not right that she suffer in my stead."

"You're trying to tell us that you let this guy torture you when you could have avoided it?" Jack was all skepticism now. He couldn't imagine any Goa'uld putting themselves out for anyone.

Evree glared at him. "It was not Draylea's fault," she argued. "She and I have shared a body for many centuries now. Should I have allowed her to suffer for my mistakes?"

They all looked at her in astonishment. They fully agreed with the sentiment, but never in their wildest dreams expected to hear it from the lips of a Goa'uld.

"I'm sure that you'll appreciate that we have a certain amount of skepticism where the Goa'uld are concerned," Hammond remarked. "Maybe we'd find it a little easier to believe if we could talk to your host."

Evree blinked. The idea hadn't occurred to her. While she had established a certain rapport with her host, she still didn't always give her a great deal of consideration. She wasn't sure if she was entirely comfortable with the notion of them speaking to Draylea, but, she reminded herself, she must cooperate with them. That was the bargain she had struck, and if she was to have any hopes of decent treatment at their hands, she had best stick to it. She slumped down in her seat for a moment, having to consciously work at turning over control to Draylea. Unlike the Tok'ra, she didn't have any real practice at it.

Draylea looked around at the assembly. There weren't very many of them, true, but she had been insulated from contact for so long that actually being in control felt incredibly alien to her. But this needed to be done. For herself, for Evree, and for all those who would suffer if Ahriman was able to carry out his plans.

"You can speak as you wish." Draylea broke the long silence that followed the exchange. "Evree sleeps now. She hasn't for days, and she was very tired."

"Was she telling the truth when she said that she let Ahriman torture her instead of letting you deal with it?" Jack asked bluntly.

Draylea nodded. "After the first few times," she responded. "She began to understand what it was like, being a slave and having no will of her own. I was always a slave, so I think that it wasn't as hard for me as it was for her. But no one should have to suffer what Ahriman put her through."

"So even though she shielded you from it you knew what was happening?" Daniel inquired.

"Afterwards, when Ahriman was finished with her she would curl up and sleep if she could," Draylea explained. "Often, she was in so much pain that she couldn't. We often conversed then. She said that it helped keep her mind off the pain. And we started to get to know each other in ways that we couldn't have even after centuries of sharing a body."

"There's no need for you to share your body with her now," Major Carter interjected. "We have ways to keep Evree alive, for a time, at least, without you having to be her host."

Draylea smiled, a little sadly. "I've been Evree's host for most of a very, very long life," she answered. "If I hadn't been, I would have died a great many years ago. I think that I do not have many more left before Evree will need a new host."

"Are you saying that you want to have a Goa'uld living in your body?" O'Neill asked, aghast at the thought.

"I've been Evree's host for so long that I'm not sure that I could truly function on my own again," Draylea said quietly. "And I would not wish to be host to just any Goa'uld. Only Evree. We have been through a lot together. I would like to see things through."

"We have a drug that would enable you to function without her," put in Dr. Frasier. "I know that hosting a Goa'uld can be addictive."

"I thank you for your offer," Draylea replied. "But I did not mean a physical addiction. I meant that I have not interacted with my own kind for so long that I am uncomfortable with the notion. Besides," she added. "When you live with someone as long as I have with Evree, there is a bond, whether for good or bad. And Evree was never among the worst of them."

"And how are we to know that Evree has not instructed you to say these things?" Teal'c asked. "She could still be in control and behaving in a manner that she considers we would believe is her host."

"I'm not sure that I can say anything that you would believe," Draylea confessed. "I know that it's me, but I don't know how to prove it to you. But there are more important things to discuss than whether or not I should be host to Evree."

"Such as..?" Hammond prompted.

"Such as the fact that Evree overheard Ahriman approaching Anubis with an offer of an alliance," Draylea answered.

&&&&&&&&

Ahriman inspected the lumbering device disdainfully. He had no idea what it was for, but then, he didn't have to. He was Goa'uld. Let others do the work. "Well?"

His scientist, a Goa'uld that did not have the strength to take what he wanted. One like Evree, that had never had true power, and never would looked up from his own examination. "It appears to be a crude surveillance device," he replied cautiously. "I fear that it is no longer functional, though. See, here and here." He pointed out the burn marks in case Ahriman had missed them. "It has taken fire. From one of our staff weapons, I should think."

"Is this what killed my Jaffa at the gate?" Ahriman inquired. "Did they die defending their god?" It was of paramount importance to his ego that this be so.

"Well," the scientist hemmed. "I am certain that it must have been your Jaffa that rendered the device inoperable. But without being able to compare the bodies to whatever weaponry this construct has, I have no way of knowing."

Ahriman gestured, and a team of Jaffa came in, carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades on stretchers. "Look," he commanded. "Tell me how they died."

The scientist had barely to look at them. "The signs are that they were shot by a zat," he answered. "And while I haven't had time to test this machine's capabilities, I very much doubt that it was responsible for the deaths of these Jaffa."

Another signal from Ahriman, and the bodies were carried out to be disposed of. That the machine had been responsible for killing some of his Jaffa, he could almost handle. Almost. But if the machine had not done it, then it must have been the intruders whose interference in his affairs had enabled Evree to make her escape. It was adding insult to injury, and it was not to be borne.

"Go down to the gate," he ordered the underling. "See if there is some sign of where the interlopers went." An evil smile made its way across his features, distorting them and making what was relatively handsome, hideous. "I believe that they have something of mine."

&&&&&

"I was going to tell you about Ahriman allying himself with Anubis," Evree protested. "But I wasn't sure that you would believe me."

"I'm not sure that we do," O'Neill commented. More and more, he kept finding himself starting to feel pity for this Goa'uld, and he was being ruder than usual as a side effect. "After all, even if Draylea believes it, she got her information from you."

"Why couldn't you have been one of the System Lords?" Evree murmured despairingly. "I may not have received decent treatment at their hands, but at least they would have had the resources to stop Ahriman."

"We do have a few resources of our own," Hammond assured her, without specifying what those resources were. So far, she appeared to be on their side, but he wasn't about to pass on any classified information to her.

"You don't know what you're up against," Evree stated flatly. "Anubis is a Goa'uld that frightens other Goa'uld."

"Actually, we know more about Anubis than you might think," Daniel interjected. "In fact, we probably know more about him than you, or the System Lords do."

"But your knowledge has not helped you to defeat him, has it?" Evree pointed out. "For I am sure that if it had, you would already have dealt with him."

"It's easy for you to criticize," O'Neill remarked. "But what have you got to bring to the table? You couldn't even fight off Ahriman. I doubt that you're any match for Anubis."

Evree looked as though she were ready to snap back at him, then thought the better of it. "You are correct, Col. O'Neill," she admitted, feeling the words leave a bitter taste in her mouth. "Point in fact, I am utterly useless to you. All I can do is ask that whatever you do with me, that you will not send me back to Ahriman. I would much rather die."


	3. Ultimatum

21

Ultimatum

"We now know why the mission to PX549 went so badly," Major Carter announced, as she fell into step with O'Neill as he traversed a corridor.

"Because Tok'ra intelligence sucks?" Jack suggested. Allies the Tok'ra might be, but the only difference O'Neill could see between them and the Goa'uld was that the Tok'ra weren't openly trying to kill them.

"Actually, it was more of a wrong number," Sam replied. "The intel report was for PX949."

"Just great," O'Neill said in disgust. "Well, it looks like PX949 is going to have to wait, since we seem to have a situation on PX549." A thought struck him. "Did the Tok'ra, by any chance, have anything on PX549?"

Carter shook her head. "Nothing that we haven't already learned from Evree," she answered. "Mainly, what they had to say was that Evree held the planet for a long time, and then Ahriman came and took it from her. But they don't know why either."

O'Neill glanced at his watch. "Well," he remarked. "I don't think we're going to do much of anything about either of them right now." As if in confirmation of the lateness of the hour, Jack was seized by a jaw-cracking yawn.

"See you in the morning, sir," Sam said with a smile.

As the two of them began to part company and make their way to their quarters, the relative stillness was shattered by a bloodcurdling scream.

O'Neill and Carter headed for the source of the disturbance automatically, drawing weapons as they went.

As they rounded a corner, the scream sounded again, and pinpointed the location.

"That's Evree's room, sir," Carter informed him. At the moment the door was blocked by one of the two guards that had been placed there.

"What's going on, soldier?" O'Neill inquired, a bit irritably.

The private snapped to attention. "The key broke off in the lock, sir," he replied.

"Allow me." O'Neill motioned the guard aside, aimed his gun and blew the lock to smithereens.

And still the screaming continued.

A quick glance within showed that Evree was alone, sitting up in bed, eyes wide open, yet sightless, screaming over some terror seen only by her.

"Carter, go get Doc Frasier," O'Neill ordered. "Get her out of bed if you have to."

"Yes, sir." Sam sped on her way without further comment.

Jack holstered his weapon and approached the bed. "Evree?" he said softly. He moved closer, laid a tentative hand on her shoulder.

At O'Neill's touch, Evree went wild, flailing her arms about and screaming even more frantically than before.

Jack dodged one of the flying arms just in time to save himself a great deal of discomfort. Instead of helping, he'd obviously made matters worse. And now, there was no way the doctor would be able to find out what was wrong until Evree was immobilized.

In one quick, economical motion, Jack sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the Goa'uld by the arms, which stopped their aimlessly flailing about, but Evree still writhed within his grasp.

"Evree!" He was shouting now, but she still wasn't waking. And holding her like this put both of his hands out of commission. He changed tactics and wrapped one arm completely around her, pinning her arms even more effectively than before. His free hand now raised to slap her awake when he paused, remembering what she'd been through. If she was having a nightmare about the things Ahriman had done to her, and the smart money said that she was, then slapping her would probably be the worst way to wake her.

At this point in time, Jack decided the best thing he could do would be to sit tight until the doctor arrived. He wrapped his other arm around her, more for convenience sake than anything else, and was startled no end when Evree's screaming ceased as abruptly as it had begun.

O'Neill didn't think it prudent to release his hold on Evree just yet. She might become violent again. Instead, he decided to see if she were awake at last. "Evree?"

Evree woke to an unaccustomed sensation. At first she began to panic because she felt trapped, but then she realized that her bonds were those of warm, human flesh and blood. She had never been held before, and found it to be comforting. Then, a familiar voice murmured her name, and the voice had a question in it. And, it was a voice that she recognized.

"Col. O'Neill?" She wasn't sure that she was ever going to figure him out. He was a complete puzzle to her. At one moment seeming to abhor the very sight of her, and at the next showing solicitude for her well-being.

"Nightmare?" O'Neill asked conversationally. He still hadn't released her, and realized that she was trembling.

"Yes," Evree answered shortly. She did not want to think about the terror that sleep had visited on her. Instead, she decided to ask what was in the forefront of her mind. "Most of the time, you appear to hate me, O'Neill, and yet at others, you put yourself out to give me comfort. Please explain."

Jack finally released her. "Blame it on my gentlemanly instincts," he muttered. He was starting to feel more than a little embarrassed.

"I am not sure that I comprehend 'gentlemanly instincts'," Evree confessed. "But I do know that when you had your arms around me, I felt.., safe." She hadn't intended to say it, it had seemingly come out of her mouth of its own accord. Or perhaps Draylea had given it a little push.

"It could have been anybody," O'Neill mumbled, rising, and devoutly hoping that it was so. The thought of a Goa'uld taking a shine to him was enough to give him nightmares.

Evree realized that she had made him as uncomfortable as she had made herself. "I'm sure it is as you say," she replied. "I am sorry to be such an inconvenience."

"If inconvenient is all you ever manage to be," Jack commented. "Then you'll be way ahead of all the rest of the Goa'uld on points."

Evree tried to puzzle out the meaning of the idiom, but although she gathered that it was something by way of a backhanded compliment, she could get no farther. And before she could work up the nerve to ask for a complete translation, Major Carter returned with Dr. Frasier in tow.

&&&&&&

"I believe that I have pinpointed the planet of origin for the device that was found by the gate," the scientist announced as he entered Ahriman's throne room.

"Where?" demanded Ahriman. He was impatient to deal out some chastisement to those who would dare to pit themselves against a god. And even more so to find Evree.

"Here, Lord." The underling unrolled a star map with gate coordinates marked on it and indicated a planet.

"There?" Ahriman's face suffused with color. He knew of the planet. It was there that the infamous O'Neill hailed. And where, if he was not mistaken, the renegade Jaffa, Teal'c hid. And now they had dared to take that which was his. "Prepare my transport. I will go to the gate to communicate with the Tau'ri."

"Are you sure that this is wise, Lord?" his flunky ventured. "Their weaponry may be fairly crude, but it is effective."

Ahriman gave him a look which said that he had no intention of putting himself in harm's way. "The Tau'ri must be made aware that they have made a grave error in judgment," he growled. "Prepare my transport."

&&&&&&

Evree looked with some trepidation at the breakfast crowd in the mess hall. She was not sure that she was ready to deal with so many people yet, but Dr. Jackson had insisted.

"You can't spend all your time in your room and medical," he had said firmly. "You need to get around a bit. While you can't go out, you can interact with some of the people that you're sharing living space with."

Not being able to come up with an argument against it, Evree had accompanied him without a murmur. But when they arrived, she was faced with a perplexing array of foodstuffs, none of which she was familiar with.

"Tell you what," Daniel suggested. "Why don't you take a seat and I'll bring you something." He scanned the room briefly. "Over there," he said, pointing with his chin, and his hands held a tray. "You can sit there with Jack."

"With who?" Evree began, then saw the spot that Jackson was indicating. "With Col. O'Neill? I don't think he'd care to have me as a companion while he breaks his fast."

"Jack growls," Daniel replied. "Most of the time it doesn't mean anything. It's when he stops growling that you have to worry. Go on, sit down. If he gripes, tell him that I told you to."

"I most certainly will," Evree assured him. She certainly wasn't about to take the blame all to herself, especially when it wasn't her idea.

Jack had his back to the serving line, so he didn't see the Goa'uld approaching him. Therefore, when Evree sat down next to him, his first reaction was to spray his mouthful of coffee all over the table, amongst other things.

Evree looked down at herself with dismay. There were several damp spots on what had been a clean shirt now. While the clothing was not precisely to her taste, it sufficed, and she didn't like the thought of it being soiled.

"Do you think you could give a person a little notice before you scare the crap out of them?" Jack barked.

"Dr. Jackson told me to sit here," Evree said. It might not mean anything, but O'Neill did sound quite fierce, and he was in a position to have power over her well-being.

"I owe you one, Daniel," Jack muttered to himself.

"I am sorry if I startled you, Col. O'Neill," she murmured diffidently. Was this what the rest of her existence was to be? Spending her time in a constant state of apology?

"Yeah, well, no harm done, I guess," Jack replied grudgingly. Wouldn't she even do him the favor of being a typically obnoxious Goa'uld? The cooperative, apologetic demeanor that Evree had displayed so far made it hard for him to hate her the way he felt she deserved, merely for being a Goa'uld.

"Good morning, Jack." Daniel appeared with a laden tray was about to unload it on the table when he noticed the mess. "What happened?"

"You might want to tell your little friend here that it isn't considered polite to sneak up on people," Jack rumbled. He glanced at the coffee-coated table. "You might want to consider sitting elsewhere," he suggested.

"Why don't you join us?" Daniel requested.

"I'm finished," Jack lied, leaving behind a half-full plate. He'd lost his appetite, and wasn't up for polite conversation with a Goa'uld.

"He doesn't like me," Evree stated quietly, getting up and following Daniel to another table.

"It can take a while sometimes," Daniel said. "Jack's a good guy. He just takes a little getting used to."

"Do you really think that I will be allowed to stay here long enough to 'get used to' Col. O'Neill?" Evree asked pointedly. "To be honest, I was a little surprised that you did not immediately begin to experiment on me."

"We don't operate that way," Daniel responded. "The only way that we'd experiment on you would be if your life was in danger and the experimentation was the only way to save it."

"You would do that for an enemy?" Evree asked wonderingly. She had heard many stories about the Tau'ri, but none of them had prepared her for the reality.

"Okay," Daniel said slowly. "So being a Goa'uld technically makes you the enemy. But you personally haven't done anything to us that we know of. We believe in giving a person the benefit of the doubt."

"Does 'we' include Col. O'Neill?" Evree asked wryly. She looked down at the array of food in front of her. "Surely you're not expecting me to eat all this?"

&&&&&&&

"Incoming message via the gate, sir," the technician on duty informed General Hammond.

"Where is the source of the transmission?" Hammond inquired.

The man bent over the read-outs in front of him. "PX549, sir," he told the commanding officer.

Hammond picked up a phone. "Have SG-1 meet me in the control room," he ordered. "And tell them to bring our guest with them."

&&&&&&

"We have opened communications, sire, but so far, the Tau'ri refuse the acknowledge us," another technician on another planet informed Ahriman.

"They will answer," Ahriman answered confidently. "The Tau'ri are an extremely curious race. They are no doubt merely attempting to assess the level of the threat before committing themselves to a course of action."

"Then we wait, Lord?" the underling made so bold as to inquire.

"We wait," Ahriman confirmed. "I doubt very much that we shall have to wait long."

&&&&&&&&

"So, where's the fire?" Jack queried as the SG-1 team entered the control room. "And why is she here?" It took no stretch of the imagination to figure out to whom O'Neill was referring with the pronoun.

"The reason that Evree is here," Hammond replied sternly. "Is that we are being hailed from PX549. Evree might have information that will be useful to us."

"Having information and sharing it are two very different things," Teal'c pointed out. He wasn't as openly hostile as O'Neill, but it went against his grain as well, to trust a Goa'uld.

"I will render whatever aid I can," Evree stated quietly, but there was a panicked look around her eyes that was unmistakable.

Carter patted her hand. "Don't worry, Evree," she said reassuringly. "We aren't going to hand you over to Ahriman."

"That is what he will demand," Evree replied in a small voice. She was feeling more alone than she had since she had arrived at Stargate Command.

"He can demand all he wants," O'Neill said. "I've never been real good at dealing with people who demand things. It tends to make me get very stubborn."

"Open communications," Hammond ordered.

No sooner had the order been obeyed, than a booming Goa'uld voice echoed throughout the chamber. "I would know with whom I speak."

"General Hammond," Hammond replied. "I'm the commanding officer here. Am I speaking to Ahriman?"

"You are," the disembodied voice answered. "I would have you explain your intrusion on my world and subsequent theft of my property."

"We didn't know that it was your world," Hammond hedged, failing to add that if they had felt a need, they wouldn't have cared whose planet it was. "And as for the charge of theft, perhaps you'd be so kind as to tell me what you think was stolen."

"You know very well what was stolen!" Ahriman's voice went up, in tone and volume. "Your people took a Goa'uld from her rightful place. You will return her immediately, and also turn over those responsible for her abduction."

"Since we're speaking plainly," Hammond replied. "Evree wasn't abducted, she came of her own free will. As a matter of fact, she requested asylum. And we have granted it." The last was a tight stretch. Hammond on his own did not have that much authority. But he had set the gears in motion.

"If Evree is not returned to me within three of your days," Ahriman warned. "I will destroy your entire planet. Is she worth the lives of all that dwell on your world to you?"

"End transmission," Hammond whispered to the technician, and waited until he had done so before speaking aloud. "Comments?"

"About what I'd have expected," O'Neill replied lazily. "It isn't the first time that a Goa'uld has threatened to destroy the Earth."

Daniel turned to an ashen-faced Evree. "Do you know if Ahriman has the capability to carry out his threat?" he inquired.

Evree looked about helplessly. It still hadn't entirely sunk in to her that these people meant what they said when they told her that they weren't going to turn her over to Ahriman. "I'm not sure," she mumbled, staring at the floor. "He didn't exactly take me into his confidence. I only know about his plan to ally with Anubis by an overheard remark."

"So we have no way of knowing whether or not Ahriman is bluffing, do we?" Teal'c asked rhetorically. He eyed Evree speculatively. If it were up to him, he would turn her over to the other Goa'uld without the slightest qualm.

"That's something that we need to find out," Sam interjected. "Maybe the Tok'ra would have some information about Ahriman's offensive capability."

"Tok'ra intelligence being so reliable," said Jack sarcastically. His gaze turned to Evree now. "What I'd really like to know is why Ahriman is so hot to get his hands back on you."

Evree shook her head. "I wish that I could tell you, O'Neill," she replied. "But as I said, Ahriman does not confide in me."

"Dr. Jackson," Hammond broke in. "I want you to make Evree your priority as of this moment. I want you to get to know everything about her. Maybe in the course of things, you'll figure out just what makes her so valuable to Ahriman."

"Yes, sir," Daniel answered. He escorted Evree out of the room.

"Major Carter," Hammond went on. "Get in touch with the Tok'ra and get whatever information you can from them about Ahriman."

"I'm on it," Sam assured him.

The General began to leave the room.

"Ah, excuse me, sir," Jack put in. "What exactly are Teal'c and I supposed to do? Cool our heels until there's something to fight?"

Hammond considered. The problem was serious enough to be an all hands assignment. He divided them where he thought their respective talents were best suited. "Teal'c, you assist Major Carter," he decided. "And Jack..,"

O'Neill shook his head in dismay. "Please don't say it, sir," he pleaded with almost no joking about it.

"You're with Dr. Jackson," Hammond finished.

Jack turned back to the other two as the General left. "He said it anyway."


	4. Fact Finding

28

Fact Finding

"Come on, dad," Sam wheedled, her voice a mixture of affection and exasperation. "The Tok'ra have a dossier on practically every Goa'uld there is. Are you trying to tell me that out of all of them, Ahriman is the only one they missed?"

Jacob shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Sam, but if there ever was any information on Ahriman, it's been lost. We really don't know much about him."

"Would you be willing to participate in a joint reconnaissance mission?" Teal'c suggested. "Information would be gathered with both parties having equal access to it."

"I'll have to run it by the others," Jacob replied. "But I doubt if they'll have a problem with it. Since this situation came up, they've gotten curious about Ahriman."

"Ahriman, at least, I understand," Teal'c rumbled reflectively. "The one that puzzles me is Evree."

&&&&&&&

Evree made a show out of sipping at the cup of coffee that Daniel had pressed on her. She had already decided at breakfast that she didn't care for the bitter liquid, and wondered how much she should force down for politeness' sake.

She was starting to raise the cup to her lips again when it was removed from her hands.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to drink it," O'Neill said, taking a swig of it himself. "What you eat and drink here is strictly up to you."

"I didn't wish to.., to..," Evree struggled for the appropriate phrase, It had never been an essential part of her conversation before. "To injure Dr. Jackson's emotions."

"Hurt my feelings," Daniel corrected her gently. "And please, call me Daniel." As Evree looked at him questioningly, he realized there was more information that she desired. "And no, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't drink the coffee." A thought struck him, and he felt compelled to follow it up rather than go on to the type of question that might be potentially productive. "Was there anything at breakfast that you actually liked?" He remembered her methodically tasting, to the best of his memory, a little bit of everything. But he didn't recall her commenting on how things tasted to her one way or the other.

"I liked the round object with the white tracery on top of it," Evree replied. "I believe that you referred to it as a danish? And the orange juice was quite palatable as well, but I really didn't care for the juice that you said came from an animal."

"Milk," Daniel supplied, as much for Jack's benefit as Evree's. "Was that all that you liked out of all the things you tried?"

"The pink fruit with the yellow rind was too sour," Evree answered. "The gray glutinous matter you called oatmeal was too bland. And I simply could not bring myself to eat ova."

"Ova?" Jack knew that he knew what it meant, but at the moment, his brain wasn't making the connection.

"Eggs," Daniel filled in, grinning. Then, he sobered. "Evree, if you're going to keep your host's body healthy, you're going to eat a more balanced diet."

"I attend to the body's well-being," Evree bristled. "I ingested a sufficient amount to keep it functional."

"But a better diet would help it to function at its optimum performance," Daniel argued. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to win this one, but he was determined to make his point anyway.

Surprisingly, at least to Evree, O'Neill seemed to be on her side. On this matter, at least.

"Why don't you just drop it, Daniel?" Jack suggested. "I'm sure that she'll listen to your nutrition lecture when the danish start showing up on her hips."

Evree stared at O'Neill in perplexity. She was certain that they were speaking the same language, and yet there was a distinct lack of communication.

&&&&&

"Do you believe that the Tau'ri will surrender Evree to you, Lord?" the ever-present underling inquired.

"Eventually," Ahriman replied. "They will wait until it is vastly evident that they have no other option. They will try to find a way to defend themselves, or to disarm me. But they shall succeed at neither."

"You were most gracious to give them so much time," the toady said, not missing out on an opportunity to do a little apple-polishing. "If I may make so bold, why did you not demand Evree's immediate return?"

"They are a stubborn people," Ahriman answered musingly. "If I had given them no time, they would have refused to cooperate and forced me into keeping my word. And, if I destroy their pathetic little planet, I will destroy Evree, as well. As I said, it is best to let them arrive at the conclusion that they have no choice on their own. They will wait, but they will inevitably crumble."

"But will Evree?" the other muttered to himself.

&&&&&&

Evree passed a hand over her eyes. Her head throbbed, and she had been bent over books while Daniel pointed things out in them, asking her questions, so long that her neck and shoulders burned as with fire. Indeed, when she tried to straighten up, she found, most painfully, that she couldn't.

Daniel was not currently in the room. From his choice of euphemisms, Evree deducted that he had gone to tend to the body's needs. But she could not straighten her stiff neck. She looked to O'Neill in desperation, even though he was an unlikely source of help. Or was he? Evree was not sure, his moods seemed as changeable as the weather.

"Problem?" Jack asked off-handedly. He was profoundly unenthusiastic about his current assignment, and only the fact that it had been an order kept him where he was.

"I am not used to remaining sedentary for such extended periods of time," Evree replied. "What do your people do when the muscles stiffen into place?"

"The common practice is to get a friend to knead out the kinks for you," Jack explained. He hoped that she didn't expect him to give her a neck rub.

"And I have no friends," Evree murmured sadly. "Do all of you have friends? I mean, not just those who are here, but all on the planet."

"Mostly," O'Neill replied slowly. "The ones that don't often don't want any friends. And, there are a few who just can't seem to get along with anybody."

"You do not get along with anybody," Evree pointed out, proving that she had been observing the whole time she had been observed. "And yet you seem to have friends."

"I get along with people," Jack sputtered defensively. "I..," He cut himself off when he realized that from what Evree had seen, he didn't. There hadn't been anyone, bar the general that he hadn't argued with since meeting her. He watched as she rubbed ineffectually at the back of her own neck and caved in with a sigh. It wasn't, he thought, that he was trying to be her friend. But if she thought he was, it might put her off her guard. He reluctantly stood, went around behind her and started working the knots out of Evree's neck.

"That is.., pleasant," Evree murmured. "For a warrior, you have quite a gentle touch. It is most soothing."

Jack dropped his hands away from her as if she'd suddenly become radioactive. "I hope it feels better," he mumbled insincerely. He glanced towards the door. What in the hell was keeping Daniel?

&&&&&&&

Major Carter turned back from the communications console with a look of satisfaction on her face. "General Hammond gave the recon mission a green light," she reported to Teal'c. "Now all we need is to get the go-ahead from the Tok'ra."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. He had been wrapped up in his own thoughts. He fully agreed that the information gathering was essential, had he not suggested it himself? But still he wondered how Evree had managed to live in Ahriman's presence for so many decades without learning anything. Except the one thing that would prompt them to act now.

"It's a go," Jacob announced as he entered the room. "If the two of you will come this way..," He motioned them ahead of them. "We'll gate to a Tok'ra base in the sector where Ahriman's planet is. Then we'll requisition a ship to make the rest of the trip, not to mention using its sensors to gather our information."

"Sounds like a plan," Sam agreed. Despite the gravity of the situation, she was in a good mood. After years of animosity towards her father, she now treasured every moment that she spent with him, always aware that if he had not taken a Tok'ra symbiote, there would be no more moments.

"Teal'c?" Jacob turned the Jaffa, who had not yet moved.

Teal'c dragged himself away from his personal speculations on Evree and what she might be up to and joined the Carters.

&&&&&

"Has anything I have said been of any use to you?" Evree asked. She hoped that the answer was yes, but she doubted it. She had been buried in minutiae from the moment they had reached Daniel's room.

"Well, not yet," Daniel admitted, looking a little shame-faced. "But it all does have some value. Sometimes the smallest piece of information when placed in proper perspective can be crucial."

"He means that the whole morning has been a complete waste of time," O'Neill translated. "Why don't you give it a rest for a while, Daniel. We're all getting brain-fried. If we don't do anything but sit here and talk, you'll never think of the right questions to ask. And if by some chance you do, Evree won't remember the answers."

"Well, what would you suggest?" Daniel inquired a little irritably. "I'm dong the best I can, Jack." So far, O'Neill's contributions had been mostly in the form of heckling, and he didn't seem to mind who was the victim of his jibes.

"Calm down," O'Neill advised. "I just think that we could all use a little breather, give us a little perspective. You know, blow out the cobwebs."

"Well, I don't have anything against the idea per se," Daniel responded. "But we'd have to get General Hammond's permission to take Evree out of the complex. That was what you were suggesting, weren't you?"

"Can't expect to keep her cooped up here," Jack pointed out. "Sooner or later, she's going to have to get out and about. And I don't see that Hammond will have a problem with it. After all, we'll both be there to keep an eye on her."

Both Daniel and Evree had the same thought in that they wondered exactly what O'Neill was up to.

&&&&&&

"My Lord?" Again with a functionary creeping timidly into Ahriman's presence. "Are there any sort of preparations that you would desire we make against the possibility that the Tau'ri will prove to be intransigent?"

Ahriman waved a hand dismissively. "None are necessary," he drawled lazily. Uncharacteristically, he decided to explain. Evree's absence notwithstanding, he was in a relatively good mood. "I do not anticipate needing to carry out my threat. But should it prove necessary, all is in readiness."

The man backed out of the room the way he had come, perplexed at Ahriman's laissez-faire attitude, but not daring to question it any further.

Ahriman sat in his jewel-encrusted throne and motioned the attendants away. He wished to be left alone with his thoughts. And what thoughts he had curled his lips into an unpleasant smile. Soon, very soon, he would have Evree back. Then, he would destroy the Earth, not only because they had irritated him, but simply because he could.

&&&&&&

"Are you out of your mind, Jack?" Hammond demanded. "Admittedly, so far, Evree has been a model prisoner, but she's been here, not outside where it would be far more difficult to supervise her."

"I realize that, sir," O'Neill replied. "I just thought we might be able to learn more about her by observing her in more a more natural and less controlled setting. You know, get her to let her guard down. All you have to do right now is watch her and you can tell that she thinks out everything before she says a word."

"If I do this," Hammond answered, wavering. "It will be understood that you, not Dr. Jackson, not anyone else, but you alone will be responsible for Evree's well-being as well as keeping her from escaping or causing trouble of any kind. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir," Jack replied, seeing that he had won. "I won't take my eyes off her for a minute."

"See that you don't," Hammond ordered, seeing that O'Neill had taken his capitulation for granted once again. And that it had worked, again. "If something happens while you've got Evree out in public it's your head."

&&&&&&

"What is that?" Evree demanded. That particular question had been on her lips almost continuously since they had left the mountain complex.

"Where?" Daniel asked. Evree hadn't pointed, and he tried to follow the direction that her eyes were looking, but it was an exercise in futility since the Goa'uld's eyes darted back and forth frantically, trying to take in the entire landscape. He didn't see that there was much of anything that even someone as alien as Evree would have difficulty comprehending in the middle of the park they were in.

"I think she means that playground." Jack did point, and Daniel felt chagrined that Jack had not only proven himself more observant, but that he'd picked out the one thing in their line of sight that a Goa'uld might need explained.

"What plays there?" Evree queried. The devices looked quite curious to her, and she could not imagine what they were for.

"Children," Daniel replied. He pointed out the items in turn. "That's a slide, that's a teeter-totter, and those are swings."

Evree looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language, which indeed he was in this instance.

"There's a better way to explain," Jack said. "Come on, Evree. Time for a second childhood."

&&&&&&

"PX549 coming within sensor range," Sam reported. She glanced in the viewer as well, and wished that she dared to set foot on the planet. Even from the distance that they were orbiting at, she could see that it looked like a pretty little planet. She'd like to be able to visit in person some day. And if that were ever going to happen, they were going to have to get rid of Ahriman, first.

Teal'c was frowning over his own sensor array. "This makes no sense," he mumbled, half to himself. "According to your sensors there are no offensive weapons on the planet larger than a staff."

"Do you think that Ahriman was bluffing when he threatened to destroy the Earth?" Sam queried.

"When a Goa'uld says that they're going to destroy something," Jacob observed. "I generally take the remark at face value."

"And I as well," Teal'c agreed. "Which still does not explain the complete lack of weapons on the planet."

"Could there be some sort of shield over them that the Tok'ra sensors can't penetrate?" Sam suggested. She thought that it looked odd too. And every time a Goa'uld had threatened to blow up a planet that she was aware of, they had the capability to carry out the threat. And were usually all too eager to do so.

"I think I'm going to sneak in a little closer and see what we can see," Jacob announced.

"Be careful, dad," Sam cautioned. "If he does have his weaponry shielded in some way, he may have a few nasty surprises waiting for us."

Jacob grinned suddenly. "It would be one way of telling what kind of weapons he has, wouldn't it?"


	5. Second Childhood

33

Second Childhood

"You want us to put the entire planet in jeopardy to give asylum to a Goa'uld?"

Hammond sighed. He had known it wasn't going to be easy, but somehow, he was going to make this happen. "I realize that it is a totally unprecedented request, sir, but it goes against my grain to relegate someone who has done us no harm to a lifetime, in fact, several lifetimes, of slavery and torture. Evree asked for our protection, and she hasn't done anything to betray our trust."

"Yet." The man in the expensively tailored suit had introduced himself to Hammond only as Curtis. No indication if it was his first or last name, and no mention of what, if any, military rank he held. But he knew too much about what was going on not to be official. "The subject hasn't even been in your care a full twenty-four hours, General. And while I've never met a Goa'uld personally, I've read all the reports. More than once."

"Well, I've read the reports, written a lot of them, and met Goa'uld," Hammond replied. "And, I've met Evree. Even if she proves unable to give us any tactically useful information, the opportunity to study her could increase our understanding of the Goa'uld by an order of magnitude." The general realized that was probably a gross exaggeration, but in this instance, he was prepared to lay it on with a trowel.

Curtis picked up Hammond's written recommendation. "The final decision isn't mine, General, but I have to tell you that your vehemence notwithstanding, I am going to advise against it." He shook his head. "Risk the fate of the entire planet? For a Goa'uld?"

"We're in the process of assessing whether or not Ahriman can back up his threat," Hammond informed him. "Once we have an answer, we'll take steps to see that he is neutralized, preferably on a permanent basis."

"I wish I could show your optimism, General Hammond," Curtis replied. "And, in the interests of fairness, that information will go in my report." He paused a moment. "Well, just one thing left before I go. I'd like to meet with the subject of the inquiry."

"The subject's name is Evree," Hammond corrected him. "And she's not currently available." Hammond thought it the better part of discretion not to tell Curtis that Evree wasn't on the base.

"She's a prisoner," Curtis stated. "So how can she not be available?"

"She sought asylum," Hammond said firmly. "So, I believe that means that she is in protective custody."

Curtis caught on to what Hammond was trying not to tell him. "Am I to understand that there's a Goa'uld out roaming the streets to menace the public?"

&&&&&&

O'Neill watched as Evree swung past him, silky waves of hair trailing behind her. For someone who had never had a childhood, Evree was entranced by the playground, and most especially the swings.

"Evree." Daniel was finding it difficult to carry on a conversation with someone who was continually changing their distance from him, and had to raise his voice just to make sure that she heard him when she was on the backswing. "You said that Ahriman didn't allow you regular use of the sarcophagus."

"That's correct," Evree agreed. "This is wonderful. This must be what it feels like to fly."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," Daniel conceded, trying to conceal his impatience. "How long was it after you stopped using the sarcophagus that you started feeling empathy with your host?"

Evree's brow wrinkled in thought, but it didn't stop her from continuing to swing. "It was a long time ago," she said apologetically. "I really don't recall for certain. I am sorry if that doesn't help you Daniel. But could you explain the significance to me?"

Daniel glanced at O'Neill, who shrugged and nodded. "I was once in a situation where I used a sarcophagus on a regular basis," he explained. "And it wasn't long before there came to be a marked change in my personality."

"Really?" Evree seemed completely surprised by the revelation. "I had not realized that there were psychological side effects."

"That's because all Goa'uld use them on a regular basis," Daniel answered. "And the behavior you get is the behavior that you expect. If you took someone, say like me, and saw the transformation, there would be no doubt in your mind."

"So you think that part of the reason that I began to feel more connected to Draylea is that my emotions were no longer clouded by the use of a sarcophagus?" Evree suggested.

"Exactly," Daniel replied. "Are you sure you can't give me some kind of estimate on the time elapsed?"

"I am truly sorry, Daniel." Well, there was a marked note of regret in her voice. "But all I can say is that it was not a long time. Less than two months, I think, but more than one."

"I don't suppose that you could narrow it down any from that?" Jackson asked hopefully.

"For crying out loud, Daniel," Jack interrupted. "It happened before your grandparents were born. I think she's doing good remembering that much."

"How does one check the momentum of this device?" Evree demanded, suddenly and urgently.

"Try dragging your feet on the ground," Daniel answered distractedly. Then, the immediacy of her tones reached him. "Is something wrong, Evree?"

"There are two of your lesser warriors are coming this way," Evree informed them, planting her feet too firmly, too suddenly, pitching herself out of the swing. She would have fallen flat on her face if O'Neill hadn't caught her.

"Lesser warriors?" Daniel queried.

"Try enlisted men," Jack supplied. He followed the direction of Evree's gaze. "I can see military personnel headed this way, but I can't tell rank from this distance." He looked at the Goa'uld questioningly.

"They carry themselves differently than you do," Evree elaborated. "They are more.., rigid. Less relaxed."

"I wonder why they've tracked us down," Daniel mused aloud.

"Well, why don't we go ask?" Jack suggested. He looked at Evree. "I think we've probably had enough fun today anyway."

&&&&&&

"We have covered the entire planet with a tight grid, twice," Teal'c said unnecessarily. "If Ahriman had a weapon there capable of destroying the Earth, we would have discovered it."

"Which suggests that either he's bluffing..," Sam murmured.

"Or, he's got the weapon on another planet or a ship," Jacob finished for her. "Did we find anything that was actually useful, or was this whole trip a complete waste of time?"

"It has served to confirm more of Evree's story," Teal'c responded. "Such as the fact that the planet is indeed possessed of a small supply of naquadah."

"But, as she said, not enough for anyone to want to start a war over," Sam added. "Except for the large fortification, which I would assume to be Ahriman's headquarters, the place is fairly sparsely settled and at a low level of technology."

"A typical Goa'uld run planet, in other words," Jacob remarked. "Damn. I was sure that we were going to find something."

"And upon what did you base this surety?" Teal'c inquired.

"I felt it in my bones," Jacob replied.

&&&&&&

The two enlisted men caught sight of O'Neill, halted abruptly and saluted.

Jack returned the gesture lazily. "What can we do for you boys?" he asked. "And try to keep it brief."

"We have orders from General Hammond to bring the three of you back to SGC," one of them replied.

"Well, that was brief," Daniel conceded. "But it doesn't explain why he wants us back so badly that he'd send an armed guard after us."

"Okay," Jack grumbled. "Give us the long version."

"All I know, sir, is that some government official came to speak with the general and that he nearly burst a blood vessel when he found out that she..," He glanced pointedly at Evree. "Wasn't on base."

O'Neill tossed a set of keys to Daniel. "Why don't you drive my car back?" he suggested. "Evree and I will allow ourselves to be chauffeured." Before Daniel could question the way that Jack had divided them, he explained. "I promised the general that I wouldn't let Evree out of my sight."

As they walked towards the car with the enlisted men following close behind, Evree said, "I hope that our outing will not cause trouble for you, O'Neill."

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "Just some government suit with a burr up his ass," he said off-handedly. "There was absolutely no reason why you had to be kept locked up. You're not even a prisoner. At least, not exactly."

"Although I would gladly be rather than return to Ahriman," Evree responded fervently. "I do not wish to be the source of difficulties for you, O'Neill."

"If it wasn't you, it would be something else," Jack replied wearily. "They do say that no good deed goes unpunished."

Evree was still puzzling over that one as Jack handed her into the waiting vehicle.

&&&&&&&

Curtis paced around Evree like she was a zoo exhibit, taking in every detail. He did not speak to her, but carried on his inspection in silence.

Hammond and O'Neill stood nearby, not liking it, but not willing to make waves just yet. But it was an option that they were holding in reserve.

While Curtis was checking out Evree, she was returning the favor. This one, she decided was a predator. She was well familiar with the species. He was more given to stalking his prey than with open confrontations. That was the difference between such as he and a warrior such as.., such as O'Neill, for instance. She was profoundly unimpressed. She gave Curtis an ingenuous look, radiating an air of helplessness.

Curtis was impressed in spite of himself. He had just recently been promoted to his current position, and it was his first encounter with an alien. At first, she had seemed to be no more than a human woman, small, fragile and attractive. But when he noticed her studying him as intently as he was studying her, he began to revise his initial impression. But when he saw the little girl lost look on her face, it threw him for a loop. But only for a moment.

"You're good," he remarked grudgingly. "If I didn't know better, I might be suckered in by the sweetness and innocence routine there."

"I was merely trying to meet your expectations of me," Evree replied. "Do you not expect all Goa'uld to be duplicitous?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Curtis answered, not sure which direction the conversation was headed.

"Good," Evree said. "Goa'uld are duplicitous creatures. And I realize that I have no way to prove that I am not trying to deceive you. That you remain suspicious is indicative of the character of a natural born survivor. I have noted the Col. O'Neill has that in common with you."

"Hey, I don't have anything in common with him," Jack protested. On one hand it was true that he remained suspicious of Evree, but he didn't like being compared to the red tapeworm that was threatening to gum up the works. On one level, O'Neill knew that there had to be a chain of command and that with something like the Stargate project, the only possible entity to be at the top of that chain was the government. On the other hand, he wished they would just leave Stargate Command alone to do their job without any bureaucratic meddling.

"My apologies, O'Neill," Evree said quietly.

"I notice that you don't apologize to me," Curtis pointed out quickly, pouncing on it like a cat on a mouse.

"You were not offended," Evree responded. "Nor am I sure that I would care if you were. But I have to interact with Col. O'Neill on a regular basis, and I would like to be on the best of possible terms with him."

"Eye open to the main chance, huh?" If it weren't for the voice and the glowing eyes, Curtis would still swear that she was human. A smart, sharp-tongued bitch in the body of a china-doll, but human.

"I am a Goa'uld," Evree stated simply. "If I were not, you would not be here, would you?"

"Game, set and match," O'Neill remarked. "I think that one went to Evree."

&&&&&&

"Any suggestions?" Sam inquired. "I really hate to go back empty handed like this."

"But we have gathered information," Teal'c put in. "What irritates that it is not the information we were looking for. We don't know if Ahriman has a weapon with which he can carry out his threat. But if he does, the one thing we do know, is that it is not on this planet."

"I'd prefer something a little more concrete myself," Jacob grumbled. "It may be a long shot, but since we're in the neighborhood, do you want to check out the moons?"

"We might as well," Sam agreed. "It might be just a teensy bit embarrassing to find out that what we were looking for was so close and we didn't bother to take the time to check it out."

"If the weapon is not on the planet," Teal'c commented. "Then I very much doubt that it is on one of the moons." When the Carters looked at him askance, he qualified his remark. "But it would be very embarrassing if it were and we did not complete our surveillance."

&&&&&&

"That man is going to make you send me back, isn't he?" Evree didn't direct the question to either of the two men in particular, she just tossed it up in the air to see who would catch it.

"Whatever happens, Evree," Hammond stated. "We won't send you back to Ahriman. If worse comes to worst, we'll send you to a planet where you can survive and where Ahriman won't be able to find you."

The Goa'uld looked startled. "Would you be allowed to do so, General Hammond?" she queried. "If my request for asylum is denied, won't you be directed to send me back from whence I came?"

"We won't send you back there, Evree," Hammond said firmly. "Maybe we could get the Tok'ra to take you in."

"And maybe pigs will fly," Jack grumbled. "Come on, sir. Dealing with the Tok'ra is almost as bad as dealing with that Curtis guy."

Evree was still thinking about things while the exchange between O'Neill and Hammond went on, and she saw a flaw in General Hammond's back-up plan. "General," she began. "If you send me to another planet, I am sure that Ahriman will make good his threat to destroy your world." She considered further. "Knowing Ahriman, I would be very much surprised if he weren't planning to destroy you even if you were to turn me over to him."

"Believe it or not, Evree," Hammond said quietly. "I had considered that. You see, I do know a thing or two about Goa'uld myself. And it seems to me that a lot of them delight in destruction simply for destruction's sake."

"You are a wise man, General Hammond." Evree's tones were of unembellished admiration. "But if, as you say, worse comes to worst, I will not flee and leave you behind. Draylea and I will die with you."

"Very touching, if useless," Jack remarked. "But I hope you know that we're not planning on dying just yet."


	6. Just Like Human

40

Just Like Human

"Well, it looks like the first moon is a bust," Jacob sighed. "One down, two to go."

"If I were a planet destroying weapon," Sam murmured. "Where would I be?"

"Very amusing, Major Carter," Teal'c observed. "But not particularly useful."

Sam was still thinking. "Dad," she said abruptly. "What's the range on these sensors? Would they be able to penetrate a deep, underground bunker?"

"As a matter of fact, they're designed for it," Jacob replied. "Even if it's through solid rock. Nice try, but no cigar."

"Could you explain to me the parameters on the new stealth capabilities?" Teal'c requested.

"If we're in orbit around them, they can't see us," Jacob replied succinctly.

&&&&&&

"Oh great Lord." The Jaffa knelt in front of his god. "Long range sensors detect a Tok'ra ship scanning the moons."

"Curious," Ahriman muttered. "One would think they would scan the planet first. But then, who can know how a Tok'ra thinks?"

"Do you wish us to destroy the ship?" The Jaffa found it difficult to believe that Ahriman was not in a towering rage.

"Leave them," the Goa'uld directed with a negligent wave of his hand. "They will not find that which they seek." He barked out a laugh. "Let them waste their time on a fool's errand."

&&&&&

O'Neill was waiting impatiently outside of medical for Evree to emerge from the daily check-up that Dr. Frasier was currently insisting upon. True, since they were back at the SGC, he didn't really have to monitor her every movement as he had outside, but he felt uncomfortable letting Evree out of his sight.

A diminutive female, made half a head taller by the hair piled atop her head exited the medical facility. She was wearing a smartly tailored pantsuit in a charcoal-gray pinstripe. The businesslike look was softened by the rosy pink blouse with ruffles down the front. She was damn good looking, but she didn't belong here.

Then, he did a double take. "Evree?"

Evree did that little twirl that seems to come with female DNA. "Do you find it.., suitable, O'Neill?"

Jack gave himself a mental shake. "Yeah, he muttered. "Suitable. Just the word I was looking for."

Evree regarded him gravely for a long moment, her features set in lines of schooled impassivity, but O'Neill could almost swear that he saw a touch of disappointment in her eyes. This had to be the limit, he thought. A Goa'uld fishing for compliments?

"I am pleased that it meets with your approval," Evree remarked, the typically haughty Goa'uld tones setting in.

Before Jack could pull himself out of trouble, or, quite possibly, dig himself in further, Daniel came around a corner.

The linguist halted in his tracks, and a low whistle escaped from his lips, almost as though it were of its own volition.

"Wow," Daniel remarked in tones of awe. "You look absolutely amazing, Evree."

"Do you really think so?" Evree beamed at him, and fluttered her eyelashes.

Jack thought that he might just toss his cookies. A Goa'uld fishing for compliments was one thing, but one who went in for feminine simpering at masculine approval? It was bad enough when a human woman did it, but a Goa'uld? It was just wrong. It was then that he noticed that Daniel and Evree were moving down the corridor arm in arm, totally oblivious to the fact that he was there.

&&&&&&

"Two down, one to go," Jacob said tiredly, well aware that he didn't really have to keep count, but doing it anyway. So far they hadn't managed to turn up anything.

"Let's hope the third time's the charm," Sam quipped. They were all finding this search to be frustrating. The had set out so certain they would find something.

Teal'c stared at the sensor readout intensely. "Your charm may have worked, Major Carter," he remarked. "There is an anomalous reading originating on the third moon."

"Why don't we just take a closer look then?" Jacob suggested.

There were no votes against.

&&&&&&

Ahriman entered the control room which in and of itself was unheard of. He went about his occasions and expected his extensive staff to come to him to keep him informed of events. He seldom went to the bother of investigating things for himself.

"Lord?" One of the drones rushed up to him lest they be accused of slighting him and all suffer Ahriman's wrath.

"The Tok'ra ship, does it still hover amongst the moons?" Ahriman asked, his tones giving no clue as to his emotional state.

"It has scanned the first two and is just moving on towards the third one, Lord," came the answer.

"Put it on the view screen that I may observe it," Ahriman ordered.

Haste was made to obey the order, and soon, a theater-sized screen lit up with the image of the Tok'ra ship making its orbital approach to the third moon.

As the ship approached the third moon, a ray of light shot out from the moon's surface right towards the unsuspecting ship.

&&&&&&

"We near the star system where Ahriman resides, Lord Anubis," the functionary informed him.

"Good," Anubis said approvingly. "Let us see if Ahriman can make good his promise to deliver a new queen into my hands."

&&&&&

"It looks like we're to be treated to yet another official visit," Hammond informed O'Neill. "The secretary in charge of covert operations, no less."

Jack made a face. "Pity they all can't just choke to death on their own red tape," he commented. "I take it they're still trying to decide whether or not we're going to be allowed to give Evree asylum?"

Hammond nodded. "You ought to know as well as I do that the bureaucrats can't make a decision without questioning it a dozen times."

"Not to mention assigning committees to go over all the information and ask questions that you either can't answer or to which the answer is so obvious that they shouldn't have had to ask," Jack observed. "Do you think they'll actually be able to come to a decision before our three days are up?"

"It's anybody's guess," Hammond replied. "But I think that they'll probably come in under the time limit, if just. What I'm afraid of is that they're going to put me in a position where I'll be forced to choose between sending an abuse victim back to her abuser or disobeying orders."

"I'm sure that whatever they come up with we'll be able to find a loophole we can use," O'Neill responded. His heart wasn't exactly in that one, though. Too many lawyers too used to making use of the loopholes themselves could draft a set of orders that was airtight.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the general said. "Jack, you've spent quite a few hours with her now. Do you think that Evree is playing us along?"

"Sir, if I said either yes or no," O'Neill answered. "I'd be making as big a guess as the red tapeworms. Part of me wants to believe her, to take her behavior here at face value. The other part of me says..,"

"That a Goa'uld is a Goa'uld," Hammond finished for him. "I'm afraid that's what I think too."

&&&&&&

While O'Neill was consulting with General Hammond, Daniel had Evree parked in front of a television while he organized his notes. It was not easy, because Evree kept interrupting his train of thought with questions.

"Daniel, what sort of place is that?" Evree pointed to the screen.

With a long-suffering sigh, Daniel directed his attention to the show that his Goa'uld charge was watching. Little more than a quick glance was needed for him to identify, if not the specific place, which probably didn't exist outside of a studio lot, then, at least the genre.

"It's a bar," he said shortly, then realized that not only did that not really explain anything to Evree, but that if the tables were turned, he would probably be as full of questions as she. "It's a place where humans go to socialize and drink."

Proving once again just how observant she was, even when watching a sitcom, Evree asked, "And only the adult humans do this.., 'socializing'?"

"Children aren't allowed where alcoholic drinks are served," Daniel replied, seeing that he had left one vital piece of information out of his explanation.

"Humans imbibe ethanol?" Evree inquired. Her tones were that of horrified fascination. "Is it not a poison? And why do they do it willingly? And why do they not die?"

"Slow down, one at a time." Daniel raised his hands in surrender. He guessed the paperwork could wait. Heaven knew that it certainly wasn't going anywhere. "It can be toxic in large amounts. The system can handle small amounts of it, though. And people drink it because.., because it helps them to forget their troubles. For a little while."

Evree pondered on that for a while. "Daniel," she said, suddenly even more serious than before. "I should like to go to a bar."

&&&&&&

"We are locked in a tractor beam," Teal'c observed. "Communications are out as well."

Jacob looked at his daughter. "I'm sorry, Sam," he apologized. "I should have been more cautious, should have known better than to go right up to a strange place under the control of a hostile entity."

"I didn't hear anyone saying no," Major Carter responded. "Dad, no one's to blame. It just happened. Instead of trying to place the blame, what we need to do now is to figure out how we're going to get out of this mess."

"I'm open to suggestions," Carter, senior replied. "What I want to know is how did they know we were here to grab hold of? The anti-detection device should have prevented it"

"You said that it hid us from those beneath us on the surface," Teal'c pointed out. "Does that mean we were visible to those elsewhere?"

"Oh damn," Jacob muttered. "Sam, I..,"

"Later, dad," Sam interrupted. "We have more important things to do now."

&&&&&&&

"You want to take a Goa'uld to a bar?" Jack asked in shocked disbelief. "Are you nuts?"

"I didn't say that I wanted to take her," Daniel amended. "I said that Evree expressed a desire to go to one."

"And what exactly did you say to her that made a bar sound so attractive that she just had to see one?" O'Neill demanded.

"Well, uh," Daniel hemmed. "It might have had something to do with me saying that drinking helped people forget about their problems."

"Guess who's going to feel in need of a drink?" Jack shot back, arching an eyebrow at him. "Daniel, I had a hard enough time persuading Hammond to take her out in broad daylight. And then, I made sure that I kept her away from people. It's kind of hard to avoid people in a bar."

"Maybe we could bring in a bottle and persuade her to do her experimenting here?" Jackson suggested. "After all, if alcoholic amnesia is all that she's interested in, she doesn't really need the bar. Just the booze."

O'Neill sighed. "We can try," he replied, sounding less than hopeful. "But don't pin your hopes on it. And I'm not even sure that I could get the okay on that much. It might tend to make the general's blood run cold at the thought of a drunk Goa'uld."

"On the other hand," Daniel interjected. "It might gain us some information. In vino veritas, and all that."

"In what, what?" O'Neill asked. Before Daniel could answer, he waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. I'll go ask if we can take her to a bar. But you're going to owe me big time on this one."

"And why would that be?" Jackson asked suspiciously.

"Because I have to spend my first trip to a bar in over a month, not drinking and babysitting your pet Goa'uld," Jack snapped.

&&&&&&&

"Despite having the ship in full reverse, we are losing ground to the tractor beam," Teal'c said. "We need to do more than just resist its pull, since that is obviously not working."

"Is there any way we can interrupt the beam?" Sam suggested. "I mean, if something else crossed the beam's path in front of us, wouldn't the tractor beam pull it in and let us go?"

"It sounds good," Jacob said grudgingly. "But how are you going to arrange to have something get between us and the tractor beam?"

"I noticed some packing crates in the cargo hold," Sam remarked. "Is there anything important in them?"

"Nothing that's as important as getting the three of us out of here in one piece," Jacob replied. "But, honey, I don't think those crates will mass enough to disrupt the beam. Even if your idea works."

Sam started rummaging around in her backpack, and eventually extracted something that looked like a lump of children's modeling clay. "C-4," she said triumphantly. "Never leave home without it."

"You believe then that the shock of the explosion will break us free?" Teal'c inquired. "You will, of course, require timers for your bombs."

Sam fished out a few more items from the depths of her seemingly bottomless backpack. "And just what good would C-4 be without timers and detonators?"

"That's my girl," said Jacob fondly. "You know, it just might work."

&&&&&&

"How did you get the general to agree to this?" Daniel asked O'Neill in a loud whisper. Not that he needed to have bothered. The bar was loud enough, busy and bustling with a Friday night crowd.

"I used that line you gave me," Jack hissed back. "About the booze loosening her tongue." He gave his friend of look of consternation. "I sure as hell didn't expect it to work."

"Evree wasn't about to settle for anything less," Daniel muttered. "Not after hearing someone on that tv show say that it was unhealthy to drink alone."

"You did explain to her that not everything on tv is the God's honest truth, didn't you?" Jack asked accusingly.

"I tried," Daniel replied. "I'm just not sure whether or not it sunk in. None of the civilizations that Evree has had contact with has had anything like American television programming."

O'Neill belatedly turned his attention back to Evree and found that she had ordered another drink. It had to be a different one, because the first one had been some frothy, white concoction. Now, it was something pink with one of those ubiquitous little paper umbrellas in it.

"Since you've suddenly become such an expert on these things," Jack said grumpily. "Did anyone tell you that it's not a good idea to mix your drinks?"

"I wanted to try a lot of different ones." Was it Jack's imagination, or was the Goa'uld pouting?

"When you feel like your head is going to fall off tomorrow morning, don't say that I didn't warn you," O'Neill remarked.

"You're always so gloomy," Evree drawled. O'Neill didn't think he'd ever heard a Goa'uld drag their words out so slowly and lazily. The alcohol must be hitting her already. She cocked her head and regarded him thoughtfully. "You're not unattractive," she murmured musingly.

Jack almost choked on the non-alcoholic beer he'd been sipping. This just could not be happening.

"Of course," Evree went on. "The nurses in the infirmary think that Daniel is cute." She leaned around O'Neill to see Daniel. "How do you like being cute, Daniel?"

"I can't say that I've given it much thought," Daniel muttered.

Evree's attention span, which had been deteriorating at an alarming rate switched to another topic. "What are those people doing?" she demanded, indicating a small crowd on the tiny dance floor that the bar boasted.

"They're dancing," Jack replied sourly. "Haven't you ever seen anyone dance before?"

"Not like that," Evree answered, paying particular attention to a couple swaying together and looking like they were attached to each other with super glue. "I should like to try that."

"I don't dance," O'Neill said quickly.

"My bum knee has been bothering me," Daniel lied just as quickly. "I'm sorry, Evree."

"Then," Evree announced. "I'll just have to find someone else to dance with me." And before either one of them could do or say anything, she slid off her stool and headed towards a table where three men sat.

"We're going to end up in a bar fight, aren't we?" Daniel murmured unhappily.

"Probably," Jack answered, downing the last of his drink. "And without any alcohol to soften the blows." He sighed. "I think I find Goa'ulds that are trying to kill us a lot easier to deal with."


	7. A Thing

46

A Thing

Samantha Carter set the last of the timers and placed the charge on the final crate, all of which were stacked in the exact middle of the ring array. The plan was not to merely jettison the cargo, but to send it as close as possible to the source of the tractor beam.

With any luck, they'd destroy the emitter. On the other hand, luck was something that was running in short supply for them today.

Since there was no one to see her, it taking both Teal'c and Jacob to try to keep the ship stabilized, Sam crossed her fingers as she hit the button to send her explosive surprise out to meet the tractor beam.

&&&&&&

"Excuse me, I'm cutting in." Jack insinuated himself between Evree and her current dance partner, not an easy task, and deftly whirled her away before the man could protest.

"I thought you said that you didn't dance," Evree pointed out. She was starting to look sulky. "And yet here you are, dancing. So it must be me."

"Can we not do this now?" Jack suggested, and mentally added, or ever. He danced his charge across the floor and deposited her back on her bar stool with a thump.

"You wanted to come out and drink," O'Neill stated. "So either sit there and drink, or we'll go back to the base."

If he didn't know better, he could swear he heard Evree sniff. "You disapprove of me enjoying myself," she accused.

"No one's saying you're not entitled to have any fun, Evree," Daniel put in quickly, before Jack worked himself up into a stroke. "But we're supposed to be keeping you safe. That's hard to do when you're in the middle of a crowd and we can't see you."

Evree was not entirely mollified. "O'Neill can dance quite well," she commented. Then, she beckoned to the bartender. "Which of these potions will make me forget the quickest?"

&&&&&

Sam was back in the cockpit, staring at her watch. When the countdown started getting close, she called it off. If her explosion didn't destroy the beam's source, the disruption, if there was one, might only give them a window of a few moments. Teal'c and Jacob had to know when the explosion hit so they would be ready to act on those hypothetical moments.

"Five, four, three, two, one," Sam intoned. The view screen lit up as the C-4 detonated.

The ship made an abrupt and unscheduled maneuver as whatever the two men had been doing to try to keep them from being pulled in became no longer necessary. Sam nearly lost her footing before they could get it back under control.

Jacob immediately took the ship out to a safe distance. "It worked," he crowed. "That was good thinking, honey. Now, how are we going to find out why they have that tractor beam there in the first place?"

Teal'c was reading the sensors again. "I do not believe that the beam was rendered inoperable," he informed his companions. "Merely disrupted long enough for us to make our escape."

"Do you think there's one on the other side of the moon?" Sam asked. Other considerations aside, she was dying with curiosity.

"Do you want to find out the hard way that they do?" Jacob asked. "You used all your C-4 on that one. If we got caught again, I don't think we have anything left that we could blow our way out with."

"Much though I dislike to say it," Teal'c rumbled. "Perhaps now would be an opportune time to make a tactical retreat. And, to restock supplies." Both men looked at Sam.

"You're right," she sighed. "I just hate having to leave like this with the job unfinished."

"One way or another, kiddo," Jacob promised. "We'll finish it."

&&&&&

O'Neill walked slowly back to the bar with Evree clinging to his arm and stumbling every few steps. If she wasn't so obviously drunk, it would have looked a little.., strange, him standing and waiting outside the ladies for her. He hadn't taken bodily functions into account. Or maybe he'd thought that Goa'uld didn't have them. It just seemed a little incongruous to him, the thought of a Goa'uld using the john.

When they rejoined the third member of their party, Evree blinked and regarded Daniel owlishly. "I had not realized that humans had perfected the art of cloning," she murmured. Her speech was still quite clear, but had slowed down quite a bit, as if she were having to carefully think out each word.

"Cloning?" Jack felt the breeze from that one whooshing over the top of his head.

Daniel caught it, though. "Evree, how many of me do you see?" he asked gently.

Evree shook her head and would have fallen if it weren't for the fact that she was still clinging to Jack's arm. "I don't feel like counting that high," she answered with a giggle.

"Oh boy," Daniel muttered, shaking his head. "She's..,"

"Tanked," O'Neill finished helpfully. "Come on, Evree. I think it's high time that we took you back to base and poured you into bed."

Evree gave him an impish look. Or at least, it seemed like that was what she was attempting to do. The effect was somewhat marred by the fact that she was having trouble focusing. "Are you going to tuck me in, O'Neill?"

"Only under direct orders," Jack muttered. He started guiding the Goa'uld out of the building into the parking lot. Evree began stumbling again, and then, her feet slid out from under her completely. With a sigh, O'Neill picked her up. It wasn't like she was heavy, or anything, but he was beginning to think longingly of the day when he would no longer have Evree in his life. It seemed that he had been stuck with her for a lot longer than just a little over a day.

&&&&&&&

"I don't like this moving box, O'Neill," Evree muttered. Come to that, she was starting to look a little green around the gills.

"It's an elevator," Jack corrected her. "And you've been in them dozens of times since you've got there."

"Then why do I feel the movement so much more acutely now?" Evree mumbled, half to herself. "I really do not enjoy the sensation."

"Jack," Daniel said warningly. "I think maybe she's..,"

"Don't say it," O'Neill cautioned. "I know. That's why I've been trying to avoid the subject. If we started talking about the possibility, it would probably become reality very, very fast."

"So speaks the voice of experience," Jackson remarked. "We're almost there, Evree. Then, you can lie down in your nice, soft, non-moving bed."

"I think I would like that," Evree replied, miserably. She tried to lift her head from where she'd been staring at her feet, but it was too much effort. "Why did you say that humans do this to themselves, Dr. Jackson?"

"To forget their troubles," Daniel answered with a sigh. He could see that he was probably going to take the rap for her hangover tomorrow, and judging by the way she was behaving, it was going to be a doozy.

"Oh, that's right." Evree stumbled between the two men as the elevator came to a halt. "What troubles did I want to forget?"

"The ones that you can't remember right now," O'Neill put in. "Why don't you enjoy it while you can. Because I really don't think that you're going to be enjoying much of anything in the morning."

Evree made the supreme effort and managed to look up at him. "O'Neill." There was a long pause, as though she'd forgotten that she was in the middle of a sentence. Then, she seemed to remember. "Have I ever told you that you're an attractive man?"

&&&&&

"Well, we're back in one piece," Sam said, trying, and failing, to inject a cheery note into her voice. "I guess that's something."

"It is indeed," Teal'c replied. He sounded no happier than Sam did. "Perhaps they have had better luck getting information from Evree." His tones suggested that he didn't place any hopes on that score either.

Sam checked the time. "It's getting late," she observed. "But someone may still be up."

"I would suggest that we try the area where Evree is quartered to start with," Teal'c said.

"Lead the way," Sam responded.

&&&&&

"I know that you hate me, O'Neill," Evree insisted. She had reached the maudlin, self-pitying stage, and was doing it quite well. "I don't blame you. I hate me too."

"I don't hate you," Jack hedged. Okay, so they'd never be bosom buddies, and he regretted even thinking of the word 'bosom' in context with Evree. But he was finding it difficult to be actively hostile to her. At least, not all the time. Or even most of the time. "I just.., don't play well with others."

"I think if that were the case, you would not have risen as high as you have done in your military," Evree remarked. An incredibly lucid comment for someone as drunk as she was. "The rest of SG-1 thinks you are a god. So it must be me."

"They don't think I'm a god," O'Neill snapped. "You are, without a doubt, the craziest woman I've ever met, drunk or sober."

"Did you say drunk?" Sam and Teal'c hove into view. "Oh my god, she is drunk. What have you guys been doing while we were gone?"

"Getting to know the enemy," Jack said dryly.

"The Jaffa," Evree said so abruptly that everyone jumped. "He hates me too." Tears were evident in her voice if not on her face. "No one wants to be friends with a Goa'uld."

"She's not a happy drunk," Jack explained needlessly.

"She's not a cheap one, either," Daniel added. "I'd probably be down with alcohol poisoning if I drank as much as she did."

"Which still does not answer the question, why?" Teal'c pointed out.

"Because I was being 'a giant-sized pain in the ass' about it," Evree informed them. "Wasn't that how you put it, O'Neill?"

"I didn't say it to you," O'Neill muttered, looking more than a bit embarrassed.

Evree had already turned away from him. "Are you my friend, Daniel?"

&&&&&

"Incompetent fools, you let them get away," Ahriman raged.

"We awaited your orders, Lord," one of the Jaffa said, pointing out, without actually saying it, that Ahriman had witnessed the whole thing and hadn't thought to give any orders.

It was the last thing the Jaffa said in this life.

"Shall we track them down, Lord?" another Jaffa ventured, attempting to soothe Ahriman's wrath.

The Goa'uld considered. That the Tok'ra ship had escaped from his tractor beam proved that his enemies were not short of resources, material or mental. And he did not have an unlimited number of Jaffa, he thought, conveniently forgetting that he himself took a higher toll on their numbers than any mission he ever sent them on. Compared to most Goa'uld, he had a relatively modest force.

"Can you reach the ship with a tracking device?" he inquired.

"If we dispatch a ship immediately, Lord."

"Then do so," Ahriman rumbled. "Find out where those curious Tok'ra originate."

&&&&&&

Evree came out of medical the next morning rubbing her backside ostentatiously. But with no sign whatsoever of a hangover, now.

"Dr. Frasier stuck a needle in me," she complained. "If you treat someone in so barbaric a manner to make them well, I shudder to think what you would do to cause them harm."

"But you do feel better, don't you?" Sam asked. She had volunteered to take over Goa'uld sitting for the time being. Until such a time as she, her father and Teal'c could go and finish what they had started on PX549's third moon. "And with the current state of medical science on this planet, sticking a needle in you is the quickest way to get medication into your system."

"Where is O'Neill?" Evree asked, changing tack suddenly. "I have not seen him since I have arisen, and I have not gone such a long time without seeing him since I arrived here."

"He is a Colonel," Sam pointed out. "He has duties to attend to, Evree. Duties that don't include you." Actually, Jack hadn't so much ordered Sam to take his place for a while as he'd begged her.

"He doesn't like me," Evree said, matter-of-factly. "Nor do I blame him. I know some of the things Goa'uld have done to your people. But he also confuses me."

"How so?" Sam was curious in the extreme to see what would come out of the Goa'uld's mouth.

"He.., protects me," Evree replied musingly. "At times, he seems most solicitous of my welfare. He allows himself to be talked into doing things that he does not wish to do on my account. I do not understand why he would do this when he hates everything that I am."

"I think you're overstating the case," Carter rejoined. Then, a thought struck her. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she was pretty sure that she knew how Jack would react to it. "Do you have a thing for Jack?"

"A thing?" Evree repeated, mystified.

"He's all that you've talked about since we met for breakfast," Sam pointed out. "And last night when you were drunk I could have sworn that you were trying to make the moves on him. You like him, don't you?"

"That is what 'a thing' is?" Evree queried. "I do not know whether or not I like O'Neill. But in the short time I have known him, I find that I feel.., incomplete without his company."

"Oh brother," Sam muttered. She knew without a doubt that Jack was most definitely not going to like this. "You've got it all right. And you've got it bad."

"And O'Neill will not be pleased about it, will he?" Evree observed.

"I won't be pleased about what?" Jack inquired, coming around the corner to meet them. True, he had asked Sam to fill in for a while to give him a break from Evree. But after a couple of hours, he started getting antsy, not knowing what she was up to. "What have you done now, Evree?"


	8. When in the Course of Unhuman Events

52

When in the Course of Unhuman Events

Evree suddenly paled, doubled over, and then collapsed.

"What in the hell?" Jack asked in astonishment as he caught the crumpled form before she hit the floor. "Carter," he barked. "Get Doc Frasier out here, on the double."

&&&&&

A meeting had been called.

"Dr. Frasier," Hammond began. "I know that you probably want to get back to your patient, so why don't you give your report first, then you can return to her."

Janet gratefully rose to her feet. She really did want to be monitoring Evree's condition. Besides, O'Neill was giving her the strangest looks. "Well, I'd just finished checking on her," she started out. "And as far as I could tell, everything was fine."

"If everything was fine..," Jack just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Then why did Evree collapse like that?"

"Because she's been deliberately delaying giving birth," Frasier explained in a rush. "From what she says, for a very long time. Years, in fact, a lot of them."

"She doesn't look pregnant." Daniel felt like a fool the moment the words left his lips. Evree was the pregnant one, not Draylea.

Everyone was pretty much equally stunned. Even, Sam realized, her own father.

"Selmac?" she said quietly, addressing the symbiote.

Jacob's head shook slowly, but it was the voice of the Tok'ra that issued from his lips. "I have heard of queens who could control the birthing process before. But never to the extent that Evree claims." Jacob looked questioningly at the doctor. "Could I have a slightly more precise measurement of time, Dr. Frasier? If you know it."

"The best I can give you," Janet replied. "Is that Evree said she was just coming into reproductive maturity when Ahriman took over. And that he's the reason she refused to give birth to her young. She didn't want them to be under Ahriman's control." Frasier sighed. "And it wouldn't be a particularly optimal solution for her to have them now, either. We simply don't have the facilities that could keep her young alive and healthy until they were ready for hosts."

"I'd like to think that if she's waited this long, she could wait a while longer," General Hammond remarked without much conviction. "So why do I have the feeling that's not the case?"

"Evree has to give birth to her young soon," Dr. Frasier stated bluntly. "If she doesn't, both she, and they, will die."

&&&&&&

"How are you doing, Evree?" True to his word, Hammond had let Janet leave the meeting as soon as they got all the pertinent information she had.

"Evree.., rests," Draylea explained quietly. "It's not exactly like sleep, more like suspended animation. It was only by doing that as much as possible that she could delay things so long." A tear formed in the host's eye, and she swiped it away. "Even dormant as she is now, I can feel her pain. I think that her being awake and aware with little respite for the past few days was what made the matter more urgent."

"But she can't stay in suspension for too long, can she?" Frasier said. It was only half a question at best. She was pretty sure that she already knew the answer, or close to it.

In confirmation, Draylea shook her head. "From what Evree has told me, a few hours at best, now," she replied. "And now you see why it was vitally important that she get away from Ahriman. But if you can't find a place where she can birth her young in peace, with facilities to care for them, then all she has suffered will be for nothing."

"We're working on it right now," Frasier promised, and hoped that it was true. For she had the feeling that after waiting so long, if Evree couldn't birth her young in safety, she would die with them.

&&&&&

"I can't believe that even your doctor was unaware that Evree was a queen." Selmac had dominated the conversation as far as the seat next to Sam was concerned. "And more to the point, would you have offered her asylum if you had known?"

"Wait a minute," Daniel broke in. "Doesn't the fact that she doesn't want someone like Ahriman to have access to them cut her some slack? I can't believe that she would have put herself, and them through this if there wasn't something that wasn't.., well, your run of the mill Goa'uld in there."

"Even the mother of the Tok'ra started out as Goa'uld," Teal'c pointed out, trying to be fair about it. He still didn't trust Evree, but even he was willing to admit to prejudice on the subject.

"And right now, the Tok'ra are the only ones who would be able to equip us with incubators and the like so that Evree could give birth," Sam added.

"It would require much discussion," Selmac observed, rising. "Evree, no matter what she has said or done, is still Goa'uld. The Tok'ra might have difficulty dealing with the concept of helping her. She could just be manipulating us all to her own ends."

"Of course she is," Jack remarked. "But if we get set up here, we, not Ahriman, not even Evree will have control over what happens with the little wrigglies."

"A little crudely put," General Hammond commented. "But true nonetheless. Please, Selmac, see if you can persuade the others to give us the equipment we need. It may be an utterly unique opportunity, and we'd be fools to let it slip by."

"And it does explain why Ahriman wants her back so badly," Selmac mused. "Even to the point of trying to track our craft."

"When exactly were you going to inform us of that particular development?" Teal'c demanded.

The Tok'ra blinked. "Since the ship's defenses ejected the tracer the moment we left normal space," Selmac replied. "Neither I nor Jacob considered it necessary to pass the information on. After all, there was no real threat. We Tok'ra take great pains to keep our whereabouts secret."

"The Tok'ra are great pains at keeping a lot of things secret," O'Neill grumbled. "You want to shake a leg there? Evree's not getting any better while we sit here and jabber."

"As you say." The Tok'ra bowed formally. "I will inform you as soon as a decision is reached."

&&&&&&

"Have the Tau'ri acceded to our demands yet?" Ahriman queried. Time was getting short. Anubis would be here soon, and he was expecting to take possession of his queen. A queen that Ahriman no longer had under his control.

"No, Lord, they have not," his second in command informed him. "In fact, the humans have not communicated with us as all since we delivered your ultimatum."

"Contact them again," Ahriman ordered. "Remind them of their certain fate if they continue to hold our queen hostage."

The underling bit his lip to keep from betraying his reaction to the remark. There wasn't a living being on the planet that believed that Evree was being held hostage. She having so very obviously left of her own accord. Nevertheless, orders were orders, and Ahriman in a rage was something to be avoided. "As you will, Lord."

"As I will, indeed," Ahriman muttered, watching the retreating back. "As Anubis wills. Or else we shall all be dead." He was beginning to wonder if perhaps his bargain with Anubis had been a rash one. But he had never dreamed that Evree would ever manage to escape. And still without having borne her young. It was utterly incredible that she had managed to do so, and showed, at least to Ahriman's eyes, the lengths the queen would go to in order to spite him. But somehow, he would manage to retrieve her. And then, she would long for the days when Ahriman had first subdued her. Then, he had treated her as a queen deserved. It was only her intransigent behavior that had earned her the subsequent years of chastisement. He was sure she would fare even less better in the hands of Anubis. And it would serve the willful little queen right.

&&&&&

"Did any of you guys have any idea that Evree was a queen?" Jack asked as they left the conference room.

"To be honest," Daniel replied. "I didn't have a clue. Even the few times that she and I spoke in Goa'uld, she was very careful not to use the tenses that would give me a clue as to what she was."

"The same would hold true for myself," Teal'c interjected. "Added to which, Major Carter and I have been away much of the time that she has been here."

"And yet now," Sam mused. "I feel like I should have been able to guess. It's the only thing that explains a lot of what we didn't know. Like why Ahriman is so hot to get his hands back on her."

"I just wish we knew whether or not she is all that she seems to be," Daniel remarked. "On one hand, if she is anything like the picture that she's painted for us, she could be the next Tok'ra queen."

"And if she isn't," O'Neill responded. "Then we've just bought ourselves a whole lot of trouble."

"We could not have left her as she was in good conscience," Teal'c pointed out. "To see something so fragile being tormented so. Is this what you refer to as a masculine stereotype?"

"Not me," Jack replied quickly.

"It could be," Sam commented. "And it's quite possible that Evree knew about that 'masculine stereotype', and played to it."

"So we still don't know if she's legit or just playing us," Daniel said quietly. He had been building a tentative friendship with the Goa'uld queen, and didn't much like the possibility that she'd been using his good will against them all.

"No, we don't," O'Neill replied. "I wonder if we ever really will."

"And how long will ever be if we don't find out what, if anything Ahriman has up his sleeve?" Carter murmured. "I wish the Tok'ra would hurry up and answer."

"I wish..," Jack started, then stopped. He had a quick visual of the delicate, unconscious form that he'd held in his arms until she'd been whisked into intensive care. And then added to that thought that she was a Goa'uld. He wasn't quite sure what he wished.

&&&&&

"I fear that it is too late," Evree gasped. Sweat poured from her, or, to be more accurate, from her host.

"The Tok'ra may help us," Janet said. "Just try to hang in there a little bit longer, Evree."

"The Tok'ra help a Goa'uld?" Evree inquired as sarcastically as O'Neill at his best. "I fear that I do not share your optimism, Dr. Frasier. But while I am still capable of speech, I would like to thank you for your care of me. And to request that you would continue to care for Draylea."

"Of course," Frasier agreed. "But I wish that you'd quit talking like your death is a certainty. Doctors really don't like to have patients go and die on them. It's bad for our morale."

Evree forced a grim smile. "I shall do my utmost not to damage your morale," she replied. "But if the Tok'ra do not give aid, and very, very soon, I fear that your morale will be the worse for the wear."

"Is there any kind of drug that you know of that I might be able to administer that would help?" Janet suggested hopefully. All right, not so hopefully. If there were such a drug, Evree probably would have mentioned it by now. Either that, or it wasn't available on Earth.

"I do not believe so," Evree gasped out. "But my knowledge of medical matters is of the smallest. For most ills, Goa'uld simply use a sarcophagus."

"Of course," the physician murmured. "Unfortunately, we don't have one at hand." She glanced at the door, willing it to open to reveal help. What was keeping the Tok'ra? Even a negative answer would at least be an answer. But she didn't like the thought of condemning someone that she'd been treating to death.

"Do not fret, Janet," Evree murmured. "As, I am sure O'Neill would say, one less Goa'uld in the universe could not be anything but a good thing."

"You'd actually be surprised what I might or might not say," Jack said, entering the room. He walked over and picked up the cloth that Dr. Frasier had been blotting the sweat from Evree's brow with and continued the process while the physician busied herself elsewhere in the room. "How are you doing, kid?"

"You refer to me as a child when you know that I am generations older than you?" Despite the pain, Evree couldn't help but be amused.

"What can I say?" O'Neill replied. "When I'm looking at someone that I've pushed in a swing, I tend to think of them as a kid."

"Even a Goa'uld?" Evree asked pointedly. Things were getting confusing again. Here was O'Neill, once more tending to her solicitously. She wasn't sure at this point if she could deal with another rebuff. Then, she reminded herself that she in all likelihood wouldn't be around by the time that O'Neill had yet another change of heart.

"Not just any Goa'uld," Jack corrected her. "Only you." He looked more than a little embarrassed. "What have you done to me, woman?"

"What have I done to you?" Evree stopped a moment, biting her lip to try to quell the pain. Both she and Frasier had decided against any painkillers, lest they do damage to the young she bore. "You are the one that has done something to me. Ever since my arrival here, nothing seems right unless you are with me."

Jack looked definitely taken aback. "That can't mean what it sounds like it means," he mumbled to himself. And totally failed to convince himself.

"I'm not sure what it means," Evree murmured tiredly. "But I feel better when you are near me, O'Neill. Will you stay by my side while I die?"

"You're not dying," Jack said firmly. "And that's an order."

"And what, pray tell, could you do to me if I disobeyed that order?" the Goa'uld replied. Her face went ghost-white as another wave of pain washed over her.

"I think you're missing the point here," O'Neill responded uncomfortably. "I really don't want you to die, Evree. I don't know what else I might want at this point, but I don't want you to die."

"Then I would suggest that we prepare her for birthing as soon as possible." It was Selmac/Jacob and another Tok'ra, wheeling a Goa'uld incubator into the room.


	9. Many Happy Returns

58

Many Happy Returns

"Have her rooms been searched as I ordered?" It had been an act of desperation on Ahriman's part, a nearly futile hope that there would be some small clue as to Evree's whereabouts.

"As you commanded, Lord." A precise answer to the question, but no hint as to whether or not the search had been fruitful.

"Did you find anything?" Ahriman enunciated each word with slow precision.

"Just this, Lord." The functionary held out a crystal. "As soon as we ascertained it to be a personal message to you, we deactivated it."

Ahriman snatched the crystal out of the outstretched hand. "Leave me," he growled. If Evree had left him a message, he very much doubted that he wanted to play it in the hearing of anyone else.

&&&&&

"We are nearly prepared." It was the strange Tok'ra, who had been introduced as Marvath. His host was tall, slender, with straight, dark hair. "You should leave your host now."

"A moment," Evree demurred. When Marvath merely stood there, she added, "and privacy."

Jack felt a sickening thrill run through him. Why the last minute desire for a private chat? He devoutly hoped that Evree wasn't going to..,

Before he could even finish the thought, Evree, weakened though she was, sat up, took his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely, if quickly.

Sooner than O'Neill could react or say anything, Evree was sinking back onto her bed. "I am ready," she announced. Her eyes flicked towards Jack. "You may wish to leave, O'Neill. I doubt that you will find the sight.., appealing."

"I know what a Goa'uld looks like," he snapped irritably. "Just get on with it."

"Very well," Evree acquiesced, giving him an unfathomable look as she did so. Then, Draylea's mouth opened, and Evree slithered out.

Marvath immediately took the queen and placed her in the sustaining liquid of the birthing tank.

No sooner did Evree become immersed, than the birthing process began.

&&&&&

"..., it was from such as you that I originally fled." Evree's voice issued from the message crystal. "I sought solitude and peace, for even at such a comparatively young age, I felt eternally wearied by the constant squabbles and power struggles."

Ahriman hadn't moved since initiating the crystal's playback mechanism. And if he had not recognized Evree's voice, he would have sworn that it was not her. Certainly she had, for the most part, acted as any other Goa'uld he had known. Mostly.

"Many races call us parasites, and such we are," the recording played on. "For not only do we require humanoid hosts to house our bodies, but we are parasitical in other ways. The vast array of technology that rests at our borrowed fingertips is largely either stolen or found. We, as a race, create nearly nothing. We seek to prove our dominance over the 'lesser creatures', but it is they who build and create. We only destroy. I wish better than that for my children, Ahriman. And that is why they, and I, will die before I let you have control of them."

The recording ended, and Ahriman spent some time just staring at the crystal with its unwelcome and offensive message. Then, he seized it, threw it to the floor, and crushed it beneath his heel.

&&&&&

"She's stopped," O'Neill observed. "Does that mean that's all there is?" His knowledge of Goa'uld reproduction was of the very slightest. The only one he had seen, a Tok'ra by name, but still the same species, had been drugged so that she was perpetually giving birth.

"No." Selmac answered him, though Marvath had been the primary attendant. "There are less than a dozen. Even given that it is her first time, that is far too few."

"She may have delayed too long," Marvath observed. "I believe that she tires."

Jack pressed his face against the surface of the aquarium-like affair, and he could have sworn that the adult Goa'uld within turned its eyes to him in an unblinking stare similar to the one Evree had given him after she'd kissed him.

"You can do this, Evree," he muttered, feeling a little stupid. After all, she couldn't possibly hear him in there, could she? "This is how you beat Ahriman. If you die, he wins."

The Goa'uld just hung suspended in the birthing chamber for a long moment. Then, she flipped her tail, swam back to the center, and renewed her efforts to give life to her young.

&&&&&&&

"What word from Ahriman?" Anubis demanded.

"None, Lord Anubis," the officer reported. "Indeed, if I were to speculate..," He hesitated, not sure whether or not his speculation would be welcome.

"Speak," Anubis allowed magnanimously.

"It would seem that Ahriman is going to pains to remain silent," the lesser Goa'uld replied. "It would not surprise me if he did not have the queen that he promised you to seal your alliance."

"It will most assuredly be the last miscalculation he makes if that is so," Anubis replied. The loss of his first queen still rankled. And while his created warriors could be numbered in legions, still, he wanted more. And for that, he needed another queen. A young, nubile queen, which Ahriman had assured him that Evree was. He would be extremely displeased if he was not able to take possession of her. And Ahriman would suffer for his displeasure. "Contact Ahriman again. Make sure that he is aware that a reply is required. I would know more of this queen that he is supposed to be able to deliver to me."

"As you will it, Lord Anubis." The other bowed and left the room, reflecting that Ahriman had better be able to deliver what he had promised. Anubis did not take to disappointment well.

&&&&&

"Jesus, how many are there?" O'Neill could barely see Evree amid the swarm of infant Goa'uld in the tank.

"I counted forty-two," Marvath replied. "A respectable number for a first birthing. And the young are rather larger than is normal."

"No doubt from the fact that she carried them so long," Selmac observed.

"As you say," Marvath replied. "Observe her now." He directed their attention to Evree, swimming amongst her young, nuzzling up against one, then another. "Have you ever seen such behavior?"

"What's wrong with that?" Jack demanded. "She's just getting to know her kids."

"It is not our way," Selmac explained. "And certainly not the way of the Goa'uld. We are not nurturing species, Colonel. For a queen to attempt to.., bond with her young is unheard of."

"And yet that appears to be precisely what she is doing," Marvath pointed out. "Will we be taking the queen back with us? It would seem to me that her behavior merits study."

Selmac gave O'Neill a quizzical stare. "Will we be allowed to take Evree with us, O'Neill?"

"Not my decision to make," Jack muttered. And he was mightily glad that he wasn't the one that would have to make that decision. Because for the life of him, he wasn't sure exactly what it would be.

At last, the queen swam to the edge of the tank, flipping her tail imperiously.

"I believe that she wishes to be reunited with her host," Marvath remarked. "Is that decision within your realm of authority?"

"As long as Draylea doesn't have any objections," O'Neill replied. Draylea had slept through the entire procedure, and it had been speculated that Evree had had to draw on her host's reserves of strength as well as her own, merely to survive to birth her young. He gave Draylea's shoulder a gentle nudge. "Can you hear me, Draylea?"

"Mmm-hmm." The host was still more than half asleep, but not completely comatose.

"Evree would like to come back now," Jack explained carefully. "Are you willing to have her back?"

"What kind of silly question is that?" Draylea muttered irritably, one more step closer to actual wakefulness. "Haven't I given you to understand that Evree and I are no longer parasite and host? We are true symbiotes." She glanced at the other two males present. "Like the Tok'ra."

Before the reunification could take place, Dr. Frasier insisted on giving Draylea a quick once-over. She supposed, she admitted to herself, that she could have attended to that task while Evree had been occupied with her own labors. But it had been such a rare and fascinating opportunity that she hadn't been able to resist watching the entire process.

"Well, what's the verdict, Doc?" O'Neill asked, as Janet finished checking out Evree's host. "Is she good to go or not?"

"She's tired and a little weak," Frasier reported. "But so, unless I miss my guess, is Evree. And the two of them are so attuned to each other that they'll probably be better off together than apart."

As soon as the physician had made the pronouncement, Selmac/Jacob went to the tank full of Goa'uld and put his hands down near the queen without trying to grab her. If she truly wanted out, she would swim into his hands. Which is precisely what she did.

But once again safely ensconced in her host, Evree seemed considerably less comfortable than anyone had ever seen her. She gave O'Neill a fleeing, agonized glance, then looked away. "This is most, awkward," she murmured. "I truly thought that I would die."

The Tok'ra and Janet, not understanding what the remark was in reference to, merely exchanged puzzled looks. Only O'Neill seemed to understand. He waved the others away.

"Is that why you kissed me?" he inquired. "Because you thought you were going to die, and that it wouldn't matter?"

"In case it has escaped your attention, O'Neill," Evree mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes. "We are not affectionate creatures. I wanted there to be an act of affection to herald my children's arrival into the world."

"You looked really maternal in there," Jack commented, more than happy to turn the conversation away from that unexpected kiss. "The Tok'ra say that Goa'uld don't do that."

"They don't," she confirmed. "And I cannot for the life of me understand it." She looked over to the tank where her young were swimming around, healthy and well. "That is life that I created in my own body. Why would I not wish to form a bond with them?"

&&&&&&

"Incoming transmission, sir," the communications tech informed General Hammond.

"Source of the transmission?" Hammond demanded.

"PX549," the tech answered.

"Open the channel," Hammond ordered grimly. He already had a pretty good idea what the message was going to be, and he wasn't proven wrong.

"Your time grows short," Ahriman's voice boomed over the speakers. "Have you finally realized the futility of resistance? If you do not deliver my queen to me within the next twenty-four of your hours, I shall annihilate all life on your planet."

It was at this point that General Hammond decided to see what kind of poker player Ahriman was. He tapped the technician's shoulder to indicate that he should switch channels from receive to send. "This is General Hammond. Even if we were willing to do so, your queen is in no physical shape to be moved."

"What have you done to her?" Ahriman demanded harshly, as though he had never tormented and tortured her himself. But of course, that was different, he was Goa'uld, and not Tau'ri.

"She is physically exhausted," Hammond went on. "From giving birth." It was mostly the truth, but he didn't think that Ahriman was in any position to tell what was truth, what was fabrication and what had been omitted. "According to those who attend her, she is clinging to life by a thread."

"Pray to whatever gods you have that she survives," Ahriman warned. "For mark my words, General, I will have my queen back. Alive and well. And all her young with her. If she dies, it will make your ending much slower and more painful."

As the transmission ended, Hammond stood where he was for some moments, mulling the conversation over in his head. "He's afraid of something," he muttered to himself. "Anubis? Whatever it is, Ahriman is getting desperate. Now all we have to do is find a way to make that work to our advantage."

&&&&&&

"I don't expect you to admire them, Daniel," Evree assured him. "I know that we are singularly unlovely creatures. Even to ourselves, for do we not seek out hosts that personify human beauty?" For all that she insisted that Goa'uld were nothing to look at, she was gazing avidly into the tank herself.

"We have a saying here," Daniel informed her. "Handsome is as handsome does. Whether or not there is any beauty in your children will be proven by how they live."

"My children will be builders and creators rather than destroyers," Evree said proudly. "Has it never occurred to any of them that a planet is much lovelier to behold in its natural state than it is after the surface has been razed?"

"Obviously not," Jackson replied. "You love them, don't you?" He indicated the newly born Goa'uld swimming about in the tank.

"I don't know about love," Evree admitted. "It is not an emotion that Goa'uld have ever had occasion to experience. But I know that I enjoy looking at my offspring, and knowing that they will hopefully be somewhat less parasitical than the rest of our benighted race." She tore her gaze away from the tank for a moment to look at Daniel. "Goa'uld believe that love is a weakness. And kindness as well. But you have all been most kind to me, and I perceive that it may not, after all, be a weakness."

"An astute perception," Teal'c remarked, as he entered. "Will your young remain in artificial incubation until they are of an age to take a host?"

"I don't know," Evree said, a little sadly. "I realize that I really have no say in how my children will be treated. But I had my say in that Ahriman cannot touch them now." Her eyes drifted upwards to meet with the Jaffa's. "He can't touch them, can he?"

"Ahriman will not have your children," Teal'c promised. He wasn't sure that he believed all the noble sentiments that he'd heard Evree claim for her children while he had eavesdropped. But he would destroy all her young himself before he allowed them to fall into Ahriman's hands.

"The word of a Jaffa," Evree murmured in satisfaction. "You fool no one, Jaffa. I know that you would kill my children to keep them away from Ahriman. And should that possibility become a real danger, I expect you to do so."

"And you do have my word on it," Teal'c assured her, placing a hand over his heart and bowing. He turned and went back the way he had come.

"I ought to leave too," Daniel remarked ruefully. "You should be resting, Evree."

"I have done naught else since I emerged from the birthing tank," the Goa'uld pointed out.

"But both you and your host are worn out," Daniel replied. "And judging by the way that Janet is looking at me, if I don't make fast tracks out of here I'm going to be in for a lecture."

"But you will come back and visit me after I have rested?" Evree asked eagerly.

"I'll be back," Daniel vowed. He was still torn between what he knew about Goa'uld and the fact that Evree seemed to genuinely want to be his friend. "Please don't let it all be a lie," he quietly begged whoever might be listening that might be in a position to grant his request.


	10. The Burning Fuse

64

The Burning Fuse

Marvath stayed to tend to and observee Evree and her young, for a time, at least. But now that that particular crisis was past, Jacob had other things to do. He approached his daughter and gave her a nudge.

"So, do you want to spend all day watching baby Goa'uld?" he asked. "Or would you rather go find out what Ahriman is hiding on that moon?"

Sam looked at him as if he were insane. "How long have we been standing here when we could have been on our way?" she demanded.

Jacob shrugged. "Selmac wanted to be here for the birthing. Enough to make an issue of it." He laughed with only the faintest trace of regret. "Having a symbiote is a lot more intimate than being married. You absolutely have to find a way to work out any differences." His look became speculative. "Speaking of marriage..,"

"Don't we have a ship waiting for us?" Sam suggested. The topic her father was bringing up was one that she wanted to head off at the pass. Of course she wanted to get married and raise a family. But not so much that she'd settle for just anyone. It had to be the right someone.

Jacob nodded. "Teal'c is probably already waiting for us at the gate."

&&&&&

Ahriman's face was suffused with rage. "Insufferable female!" he ranted. "How could she stoop to give birth among the Tau'ri?" His footsteps measured a quick, angry pace, back and forth across the chamber's large expanse of floor. Then, his footsteps halted. "Is it possible that she does indeed lie near death?"

"I have no way of knowing, Lord." It was merely one out of a myriad of faces. Ahriman paid so little attention he could barely tell one from another. "If you so desire, Lord, I would be willing to offer myself as hostage to the Tau'ri on the condition that I am allowed to examine the queen."

"I shall remember your willingness to sacrifice yourself." A lie. Ahriman seldom remembered anything that did not directly affect him. "But I do not trust the Tau'ri. I had rather not lose one as loyal as you, unless it was for a specific purpose."

"As you will, my Lord." The underling backed cautiously out the Ahriman's presence, well aware, even if his lord was not, that nothing had been accomplished by the exchange.

Ahriman sat and thought of how he would punish Evree before turning her over to Anubis.

&&&&&

"There it is." Daniel had been going over transcripts of their limited communications with Ahriman. He'd heard them, or of them, and something that he couldn't quite put his finger on kept niggling at the back of his mind.

"There's what?" Hammond had wondered at Dr. Jackson's interest in the records, but was willing to trust his intuition.

"The first ultimatum Ahriman gave us," Daniel explained. "He said that he would destroy the Earth if we didn't hand Evree over to him."

"I remember," General Hammond responded. "It's also what he said the last time."

"Not quite," Daniel contradicted him. "This last time, he said that he would annihilate all life on Earth."

"I'm not sure I'm seeing where you're going with this, Dr. Jackson," the general replied musingly. "It comes to the same thing, doesn't it?"

"Does it?" Daniel challenged. "To destroy the Earth would require some pretty impressive firepower. Something like Jacob, Sam and Teal'c should have found by now."

The picture suddenly became sickeningly clear to the commanding officer. "But to annihilate all life on Earth..," he murmured unhappily.

"Could be done with something as small as a virus," Daniel finished for him. "God, I hope I'm wrong. But if I'm not, it could explain a lot of things."

"Like why our search party never found anything," Hammond said grimly. He slapped a button that would immediately broadcast his voice throughout the entire complex. It also made warning claxons sound and lights flash. "Effective immediately," Hammond ordered. "This entire facility is under quarantine until further notice."

&&&&&

"Incoming message, dad," Sam said, frowning slightly. Shouldn't they be maintaining radio silence, or the equivalent thereof, this close to Ahriman's domain?

"Let's hear it," Jacob invited. He didn't look happy. He had a very strong feeling that it wasn't going to be good news.

"They're recalling us," Sam reported. "They don't think there's a weapons installation. They think the attack will be biological."

"A weapon invisible to the naked eye," Teal'c mused. "A clever ploy, but it does not fit in with Ahriman's actions to date."

"Maybe it's not Ahriman," Sam ventured. "Evree did say that Ahriman was working to form an alliance..,"

"With Anubis," Jacob finished the sentence. He quickly maneuvered the ship back in the direction from whence they came.

"We will not be allowed back at Stargate command until the threat has been dealt with, will we?" Teal'c asked rhetorically.

"No," Major Carter admitted. "We won't. Current orders are no one in or out until further notice."

&&&&&&

Jack went back to the infirmary turned Goa'uld nursery. He had some questions for Evree. Ones that hopefully could be answered. At least if there were answers to these questions, they wouldn't embarrass anyone. He'd had enough of that the past couple of days.

When he entered, he saw Evree, ensconced in bed, eyes flicking back and forth between her offspring and a t.v. that someone had put there just for her, it had to be, since it hadn't been there before.

"Whatcha watchin'?" he asked with little or no curiosity. Just a way to open up a conversation.

"Hush, O'Neill," Evree ordered gently. "Gerald is trying to decide whether or not he should stay with Sally, or if it is Rita that he truly loves."

O'Neill did a double take at that. "You're watching a soap opera?" he asked incredulously. Somehow, for all that he thought that Goa'uld in general were the scum of the universe, he never thought he'd see one stoop to watch a soap.

"I am trying to learn about humans," Evree explained, her eyes still doing their flickering dance between television screen and incubator tank. "Most particularly about human emotions and courtship rituals."

Jack saw the remote, laying on the bedside table and commandeered it and switched the soap opera off. "If you want to learn those things," he remarked, wondering why she wanted to know, then deciding that he didn't want to know why she wanted to know. "You'll never learn from that trash."

Evree looked confused. "Are you saying that what Gerald is going through isn't real?" She sounded very disappointed.

"It's all fiction," O'Neill replied. "But I didn't come here to discuss soap operas. As far as I'm concerned, you can fill your mind with as much of that crap as you want to. After we've talked."

"What do you wish of me, O'Neill?" Jack wished that she'd put it some other way. That particular phrasing was open to more than one interpretation.

"Ahriman said that if we didn't give him you and the kids." Jack nodded briefly towards the incubator. "That he'd annihilate all life on Earth. Which sounds like some kind of biological weapon. Do you know if he has anything like that?"

"I can say neither yes nor no," Evree confessed. "Once Ahriman took over, there were rooms in what was once my own home that I was not allowed access to." Her tones were highly offended. "I do believe that there were some chambers that were refitted as laboratories. Beyond that, I cannot say what went on behind those doors. Ahriman went to no little pains to see that I obeyed his edicts to stay away from those rooms." Her face suddenly took on a haunted expression, and her eyes almost automatically roved to her children, as if to assure herself that they were all right.

O'Neill's curiosity was engaged, but there was something else there. Maybe it was just that he couldn't help wanting to know what it took to make a Goa'uld that obviously afraid. "What did he do to you?" he inquired gently.

"The first occasion that I tried to enter a restricted area," Evree recalled. "Ahriman ordered one of his Jaffa to give me a beating. I only tried once more after that."

"What happened then?" Jack was already starting to feel sick. Evree might be shaking the foundations of his beliefs about Goa'uld, but Ahriman was shoring them up again.

"He flayed the skin off my back," Evree muttered. "Nor was I allowed the use of a sarcophagus. I had to deal with the pain until I had healed enough for it to go away of its own accord." The memory alone was almost too much for her to bear, and she bit her lip to keep from crying.

O'Neill was actively fighting the gag reflex now. He was a soldier, and he'd seen some pretty gruesome sights in his time, and dealt with them as he'd had to. But the thought of doing something like that to a helpless prisoner went way beyond any boundaries he could deal with. No wonder she had nightmares. It was little short of a miracle that she wasn't a complete basket case. Then it occurred to him that he could be making a snap judgment there. Maybe she was a basket case. But a well-adjusted one.

"O'Neill?" Evree ventured a trifle timidly. "Did I say something amiss?"

"What makes you think that?" Jack countered. Actually, he'd been thinking of what he'd like to do to Ahriman if he ever had the opportunity to lay hands on him.

"Just now," she replied in a small voice. "You looked so very.., fierce. Like a Jaffa about to go into battle. And since there is only you and I here, I assumed that it must have been because of something that I said."

"It had to do with something you said," O'Neill agreed. "But you're not the one that I'm mad at, Evree. Sometimes you drive me almost as nuts as I think you are. And that still doesn't give anyone the right to do what Ahriman did to you."

"You are angry on my behalf?" Evree was beyond stunned, and a little apprehensive too. O'Neill had been consistently kind to her since the birth of her young. She was waiting for yet another about face from him.

"Yeah, I am." Put that way, it weirded Jack out a little too. Still, right was right. And Ahriman was a mad dog that needed to be put down. His breathing rights ought to be revoked for just being able to conceive of such atrocities. "And I think that the universe would definitely be a better place without him in it."

"That is one subject upon which I believe that you and I are in complete agreement, O'Neill," Evree commented.

&&&&&&

"You shall have your queen as I promised, Lord Anubis." Ahriman, through his host, was sweating, and it was the sharp-smelling sweat of fear.

"Then where is she, Ahriman?" Anubis asked conversationally. "I shall arrive soon, and I wish to take possession of Evree immediately upon my arrival."

Ahriman closed his borrowed eyes briefly, wondering what to do. At last, he came upon what seemed as the most workable solution out of all that options. "She has been taken hostage by the Tau'ri," he replied, hanging his head as though in shame. "I have given them to understand that I shall wipe out all life on their planet if they do not return her and her offspring."

"She has given birth?" Ahriman had Anubis' undivided attention now, if he had not had it before. It was, at least, proof that Evree was indeed a queen and of age to bear young. "What do the Tau'ri do with her young? Or, for that matter, with her?"

"I know not, Lord Anubis." And Ahriman did feel genuine regret at that. The accursed Tau'ri were proving to be quite a thorn in his side.

"Were you, in your incompetence even able to ascertain which planet she was spirited off to?" Anubis was quite clearly unhappy. With Ahriman.

"Their home world, Lord," Ahriman responded. "During the last communication, their leader claimed that Evree lay near death after her birthing."

"Since when has giving birth done harm to the queen who performs the act?" Anubis demanded. "You are so far proving to be utterly useless. I shall no doubt, have to deal with the Tau'ri myself. And, rescue my queen."

"I and my forces are of course, at your service, Lord Anubis," Ahriman said subserviently. It rankled, to be sure, but he had drawn the conclusion that he had better do all that he could to stay in Anubis' good graces.

"And you have done so well thus far," Anubis responded sarcastically. "Stay where you are, bumbling idiot. I shall claim my queen myself."

Ahriman began to see his carefully laid plans and equally well-thought out timetable being to crumble. Because of Evree.

&&&&&

Sam was pacing around the room like a caged animal.

"You know that's not going to help," Jacob observed. If it weren't for Selmac whispering in his ear, metaphorically speaking, he'd probably be doing the same thing.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sam queried irritably. "I should have figured it out. I should be there helping right now."

"The last communication that we received from Stargate command said that so far, the biological weapon, if it exists, has not yet been loosed,," Teal'c pointed out. "It is, after all, only speculation."

"And if Ahriman does find a way to deliver it, not only could he wipe out the entire population of the Earth," Sam commented. "But he'll also be able to get Evree back. Because I'm betting whatever bug he might have won't like Goa'uld."

"All we can do is wait and hope for the best," Teal'c offered. It was a course of action, or more precisely, inaction that didn't sit well with him, either.

Jacob didn't like it either, but he felt that it behooved him to keep the two unwilling guests company. He pulled out a deck of cards. "Have they taught you how to play poker yet, Teal'c?"

&&&&&&

"Incoming message, sir," the communications technician informed General Hammond. "It originates near PX549, but not on it."

"Let's hear it," Hammond ordered, his curiosity piqued.

"Humans," boomed Anubis' voice. "I require that you give me the Goa'uld queen that you hold hostage. I offer no assurances save that I am not as tolerant as Ahriman."

"We aren't holding her against her will," Hammond was quick to point out. "She came to us begging asylum."

It came as no surprise whatsoever to Anubis that Ahriman had lied to him. Nevertheless, he was taken aback at the thought of a Goa'uld seeking sanctuary among the Tau'ri. "Whether she is there willingly or not is of no consequence," Anubis commented. "I will have her. I have Ahriman's timetable, and I see that your time is running short. Now, you deal with me. And what Ahriman threatened, I promise."

Hammond fought down a wave of panic. He'd heard enough about Anubis to believe the Goa'uld's 'promise'. And he keenly felt the lonely weight of command as he realized that the next decisions that he made would determine whether people lived or died.


	11. Quarantine

70

Quarantine

"It's not like scanning for radiation or using a metal detector," Dr. Frasier muttered worriedly. "Most of the time, if there's some disease on the loose, you don't know about it until someone starts showing symptoms."

"By which time it would in all likelihood be too late," Marvath observed. Since medicine was the Tok'ra's specialty, he and Janet had been talking shop. And were still doing so now that the alarm had been sounded. But to a more dire purpose now.

"I don't like the thought of just sitting here and waiting for people to start dying," Frasier muttered. "There ought to be some way that we can prevent an epidemic."

"Your commander has already done so by sealing the facility in quarantine," Marvath pointed out. "Since this is where Evree is, it is the most likely point of attack. Besides, the possibility of a biological attack is merely hypothetical at the moment. And even if it were to happen, we would have to know what disease we were up against."

"Thank you," said Dr. Frasier unexpectedly.

"For what?" Marvath asked, mystified.

"For saying we," Janet said simply. "For not acting like it doesn't concern you. Like you're a part of it, even though the best theories suggest that whatever either Ahriman or Anubis might let loose on us won't harm you."

"I will admit that my colleagues are rather conservative in sharing information with you," Marvath replied. "But we are still allies. If the Goa'uld start an epidemic on this planet, rest assured that we will do our best to be of assistance."

"Thank you," Janet said again. What else was there to say? And just what kind of nasty surprise did the Goa'uld have in store for them?

&&&&&&

Jacob laid his cards down. "Full house, Teal'c. Can you beat that?" Jacob was hoping not. After getting down the basics, the Jaffa was taking him to the cleaners.

"I believe so," the Jaffa answered, unruffled, a perfect illustration of the term 'poker face'. "Does not a straight flush beat a full house?" He laid his cards down.

Jacob groaned. Sam grinned at his discomfiture, but just for a moment. Jacob hadn't been able to sucker her.., er, talk her into joining the game, and she was antsy as all get out.

"Honey," Jacob said gently. "You can wear a hole in the floor if you want to, but that isn't going to make the waiting any easier. Or change the way that things are."

"The way that things are suck," Sam stated flatly, then relented. It wasn't her father's fault that she was stuck here. "I know all that, dad. I just hate being out of the loop and feeling so.., so useless."

"And if they need something done off planet," Jacob pointed out. "They're going to be mighty glad that you're here and out of the way of the quarantine."

"And what if they don't?" Sam knew she was being difficult, but the forced inactivity was bringing a contrary streak to the surface.

"Let's just hope that it's because they don't need any help," Jacob suggested sensibly.

Teal'c listened to the exchange, but added nothing to it. The big Jaffa hated the waiting as much as Major Carter did, but being of a more fatalistic turn of mind, did not fret over what he could not change. "I believe that it is your turn to deal. Jacob."

&&&&&

"You look tired, Janet," Evree observed. "Has there been so much to do that you have had to work that hard?"

Dr. Frasier nodded wearily. "Since it's been decided that there may be the threat of a biological attack, General Hammond ordered everyone with the slightest symptom of anything to report to medical to be checked out."

"Are so many people truly ill?" Evree was curious. Seeing the level of medical care, and while not realizing that it was of a far higher standard order than the average civilian could afford, at least recognized that it was excellent. "They all seem so well cared for."

"I've been tending allergy symptoms and incipient colds all morning," Janet replied. "But the general is right. Since we have no idea what is coming, or when, or if anything is going to happen at all, we've got to cover all the bases."

"And despite all the extra work you still find time to look in on me," Evree murmured. "Truly, Janet, my children and I are well. You do not need to tire yourself further on our account."

"Call it a point of professional pride," Frasier remarked with a wry grin, adjust Evree's pillows and straightening the blankets. "It's not every doctor that can claim to have played midwife to a Goa'uld."

"Seeing the security that surrounds this facility," the Goa'uld pointed out. "I do not believe that most doctors have the slightest idea what a Goa'uld is."

Janet laughed. "All right, you've got me there," she admitted. "Let's just say that you're a special case, Evree and I'm not about to delegate you to anyone. Or worse, leave you completely unattended."

"I thank you for your solicitude," Evree replied. She looked over at the tank containing her offspring. "Poor creatures. Whatever will happen to you?"

&&&&&&

"What defenses have they prepared?" Anubis demanded of the commander of his army.

"None that we can ascertain, Lord Anubis," the commander replied. "All weapons are currently inactive."

"Do they not believe that we will destroy them?" Anubis mused. "Surely they must know that I will. I destroyed Abydos. This planet is of no more value to me than that one."

"Perhaps they realize that they have nothing that can stop you and therefore are declining to try, Lord," the commander ventured.

"If they were that sure they would hand over my queen to save themselves," Anubis pointed out. "Surely they would not sacrifice themselves on behalf of a Goa'uld queen."

The other shrugged. "I have no knowledge of what the Tau'ri will or will not do," he responded. "But if we use the same weapon that we used to destroy Abydos, won't that kill your queen as well?"

"An inconvenience," Anubis commented. "But not an insurmountable one. "I will acquire another queen. My army is still yet small."

The commander had made it to his exalted position by not being afraid to speak his mind. And, by being right when he did. "Should there not be a way to punish the Tau'ri and leave your queen intact, Lord Anubis? If the scientists could fabricate a plague that would wipe out the Tau'ri and yet leave your queen alive, would that not be the more prudent course of action? It would also leave the planet habitable should you decide to put a base there."

"An intriguing notion," Anubis allowed. "Speak with the scientists. Find out if this idea is feasible. I find it a very attractive thought. Death to the Tau'ri and a live queen. Very attractive indeed."

"As you wish, Lord Anubis." The commander scurried off to do Anubis' bidding.

"And better still," Anubis remarked to no one. "It would also destroy that meddling one-time ascended one. I would almost give as much for his death as for a live queen."

&&&&&

O'Neill walked into the infirmary with a covered tray, which he set down on the table next to Evree. He removed the cover to reveal a meal.

"What is this?" asked Evree suspiciously.

"It's called dinner," Jack said with exaggerated patience. "You know. Dinner? Food? You eat it so you don't keel over."

"I am aware of the definition of the word 'dinner'," Evree replied with a trace of asperity. "What I fail to understand is why you are bringing it. An orderly usually brings my meals."

"So I brought it in this time," Jack shot back, getting a trifle irritated. Why did she always have to question everything to death? She was like Daniel at his worst, squared. "Besides, dessert is on me, but you have to eat your dinner before you can have it."

"I see nothing on you that is not normally there," the Goa'uld murmured, inspecting O'Neill rather more closely than he really cared for.

"It's an expression," Jack explained with exaggerated patience. "Come on, Evree. Quit being a pain in the ass and eat your dinner."

"Do I truly cause you discomfort, O'Neill?" Evree queried, beginning to consume her repast.

"More than you'll ever know," he mumbled to himself. "It's another one of those expressions. It just means that I find you.., annoying."

Evree looked a bit troubled. "I shall attempt to be less of an annoyance, O'Neill," she said quietly. "My apologies."

"Don't apologize," Jack grumbled, starting to get the feeling that he was being a little petty about the whole thing. "And don't bother trying not to annoy me. I wouldn't know it was you if you didn't."

"A strange method of recognition, surely," she commented. "Are you saying that you would not be able to identify me if I ceased to aggravate you?"

"Something like that," O'Neill agreed. Okay, so it wasn't true, but he was getting tired of explanations piled on explanations. And Evree had managed to clean her plate during the course of the conversation. "Here you go," he said, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. "I know it isn't much, but I couldn't get off base."

"What is it?" asked the Goa'uld, ever curious.

"I've got this friend who's a transport pilot," Jack explained. "He goes all over the world during the course of a year. The last time he touched base here, he'd just been to Europe and he brought me back some Swiss chocolate. I thought you might like it."

"What does one do with Swiss chocolate?" she asked warily. The oblong in her hand gave her no clues, as she couldn't read the language of the Tau'ri.

"You eat it," he replied, then seeing her lift the still-wrapped confection to her lips, quickly qualified his statement. "You have to remove the wrapper first."

"Ah, I see." Evree had wondered about it. She had been fully prepared to eat it as it was, out of consideration for O'Neill's feelings, but it really hadn't appealed. That all changed once she pulled the paper back and took a careful nibble.

"I like this," she remarked slowly. "But why are you doing this, O'Neill? You act as if you can't stand to be near me part of the time, and the rest of the time, you behave as though you are required to care for me." She paused, then amended her last comment. "No, not required to, as though you wish to."

"Hey, this is a military installation," O'Neill mumbled, wishing that she wouldn't keep bringing up a subject that not only was he not comfortable with, but that he wasn't sure about himself. "It's not every day that someone gives birth here. I thought someone ought to do something to celebrate."

"Knock, knock," said a voice from the doorway. The voice was followed by the appearance of Daniel. He was moving differently than Evree had ever seen him do, and she finally realized that it was because he had one hand behind his back. "Can I come in?"

"You are in," replied Evree, ever literal. "But if you are asking if your presence is welcome, of course it is, Daniel." She looked at him curiously, wondering why he was holding himself so strangely. Her curiosity did not go unsatisfied for long.

"I got this for you," Daniel mumbled, looking a little sheepish. From behind his back he pulled a bouquet of mixed flowers. He'd been hard put to come up with something to give her, the base being under quarantine, but there was a small hothouse attached, and while most of the plants were strictly utilitarian, the people who worked there hadn't been able to resist brightening up the place with a few flowers. He'd had to do some fast talking to persuade them to let him gather his bouquet.

Evree looked at them. She knew what she would do with them, but she was finding that the Tau'ri had some strange customs. She decided that she'd better ask rather than to risk giving offense. "What do you do with it?"

"You look at them because they're pretty," Daniel explained. "And you sniff them because they smell nice."

Evree was able to accept this because that is precisely what she would have done with them. "But they were alive," she observed, burying her face in them and finding that they did indeed have a delightful fragrance. "Will they not wither and die now?"

"Well, yes," Jackson replied. "But if we put them in some water, it won't happen quite so quickly. Do you like them?" The Goa'uld was so alien despite her human appearance that he felt he had to ask. And he really wanted to know.

"They're beautiful," she said simply. "Are they also in celebration of the birth of my children?"

Daniel nodded. "It's kind of customary here to give gifts to a new mother," he answered. "And getting human baby things was kind of out of the question."

"It is most considerate of you," Evree murmured. She then remembered that O'Neill was still standing there, and that she ought to show some appreciation for his gift also. "And you as well, O'Neill."

"Don't mention it," Jack muttered, feeling even more at a loss. The truth was, that he had considered flowers, but he didn't know just how much human culture that Evree had managed to pick up in the past couple of days. He damn well didn't want to give her any ideas. He was pretty sure that she would have liked that. Then something in the back of his head started asking why he should put himself to the effort, or why he should care that a Goa'uld should be pleased with his gift. He just knew that it irritated him in the same way that a pebble in your shoe irritates that she should seem to like Daniel's gift more than his.

"You have all been so kind to me," Evree began again. "It is.., most touching." And she felt a pang of true regret that she would be the cause of their deaths.

&&&&&&

"How much longer until their time is up?" Anubis asked.

"Less than one of their hours, Lord," the commander replied. "The virus you requested is ready, but how is it to be delivered? The Tau'ri will not open their gate for us, and we are too far away to deliver it by ship."

"They have to let down some of their defenses in order to communicate with us," Anubis explained. He opened his hand to reveal a small unfamiliar device. "Attach this to the communications console. Load the virus into it, and it will transmit the virus with the communications." Anubis sat back in his seat with satisfaction. Death to the troublesome Tau'ri and the acquisition of a young, nubile queen. Events were beginning to progress as they should.

&&&&&

Evree had finally gotten rid of her well-wishers by pleading fatigue. Which was only partially a lie. And while Goa'uld tend to lie as easily as they speak, she had felt a certain amount of emotional distress at the necessity. But she had important things to do. Things that she could not share with Daniel or O'Neill, and indeed which she could not believe they would approve of. But what she was about to do now, she considered absolutely essential, and the feelings of the two human men had, of necessity to be a secondary consideration. She slid out of the hospital bed, happy to be leaving that behind, at any rate. She spent a few precious moments gazing into the tank containing her young, then headed for the door.


	12. If It Looks Like a Duck

76

If It Looks Like a Duck

Evree stood at the door for long minutes, her ear pressed against it, listening. After a time, her patience was rewarded. She heard voices, and they were so close that they could only be guards on the door. She gave a moment's thought to wonder if they were there to make sure that she was safe or that she wouldn't be able to do what she was about to do. Or at least, what she was about to attempt to do.

She opened the door a crack, and the voices stopped, and both men stood at rigid attention. "Was there anything we can do for you ma'am?" one of them asked.

That clarified one thing for Evree. The guards were there for her protection, true, but she also had a feeling that they wouldn't let her just wander off on her own, either. At the very least they would inform O'Neill, and that particular scenario did not fit into her plans just now.

Evree opened the door fully now, and made sure that her guards got a good look at her, small, fragile-looking, and adorned from neck to ankle in a flannel nightdress. What could possibly be more harmless? She opened her eyes wide and smiled at them.

The guards relaxed, a little bit. They were too professional to let their guard down completely, but there were miniscule signs that Evree read. She let the smile fade from her face, and swayed, as though weak and helpless.

As expected, one of the guards almost automatically reached out to catch her. The moment he laid hands on her, she twisted and in a lightning-swift move purloined his side-arm and pointed it at him.

The guards slowly and carefully put their hands in the air, and Evree relieved the second one of his weapon as well.

She looked at the one who had spoken to her. "You have a device upon your person with which to disable someone?"

He wasn't sure that he followed her mode of speech, but he gave it a stab. "You mean like handcuffs?" he ventured.

"Show me these handcuffs," ordered Evree, who hadn't the slightest notion of what they were, although from the nomenclature, they sounded promising.

The guard obliged, and Evree nodded. "You will please use them to lock your companion to that." That, was a bare support beam. Not about to argue with a gun pointed at him, the guard obeyed.

"Gag him as well." Evree had spent many hours in bed with nothing to do but think, and she had thought out things fairly thoroughly.

Once she had only one hostage, which made the situation manageable, at least, in her eyes, then the main portion of her plan could come into play. "Take me to the gate," she demanded.

&&&&&

Despite Evree's best laid plans, General Hammond and, she was distressed to see, Colonel O'Neill were waiting in the gate room.

"What do you think you're doing, Evree?" O'Neill sounded more annoyed than concerned.

"If you wish this man to live," Evree replied calmly. "You will hail Lord Anubis for me. Once I have made contact with him, I shall use your gate to join him."

"So you were working with Ahriman all along?" Hammond, on the other hand, was taking it all very seriously.

Evree turned up her nose. "I was sincere in my desire to rid myself of Ahriman," she allowed. "But if I am to be a bargaining chip with Anubis, then it is I that shall strike the bargain."

"What about your kids?" Jack demanded. He'd seen her with them, and he couldn't believe that she would just go all.., well, all Goa'uld and turn her back on them.

"I am a young queen," Evree answered. "I can have many, many more young." She flicked her eyes around the room, apparently scanning against the possibility of them flanking her. "I have had enough talk, with you. I wish to speak to Anubis immediately."

Hammond unhappily nodded to the communications tech. He wasn't sure what Evree was up to, whether she was friend or foe, not that he had ever known, but he did know that he wasn't about to take unnecessary chances with the life of someone under his command.

"Speak," the Goa'uld voice boomed over the communications system as soon as contact was made.

"Give me gate coordinates and I will join you," Evree replied. "That is, if Anubis still wants a queen." No one present could tell quite how Evree knew that whoever answered was not Anubis himself, but it seemed to work out that way.

"Lord Anubis welcomes you, Evree," the voice responded. "The coordinates will be sent to be received directly into the Tau'ri computer."

"No," Evree contradicted him. "You will speak them. Send nothing directly. I wish to see where I am going."

"Why are you doing this, Evree?" O'Neill asked. He felt more than a little sick. He'd actually been starting to like her. And maybe more than like. Now, here she was, acting like a typical Goa'uld.

"I have my reasons, O'Neill," Evree replied. She did the room scanning thing again, but Jack could have sworn that he saw an expression of regret in her large, brown eyes. He gave himself a mental shake. He was probably just seeing what he wanted to see.

The gate opened as it always did, with the whooshing sound and appearance of an ocean wave. Evree marched her prisoner up the ramp. Just as she reached the gate, she pushed him away from herself, dropped the guns, then turned and jumped into the portal, which immediately closed behind her.

"I should have known that she'd double-cross us," Jack muttered disgustedly. He was more put out with himself than with Evree. She was just behaving as a Goa'uld was expected to. What ticked him off was that he had begun to believe that she wasn't like all the rest. It could have been his last mistake. It certainly was a serious one.

"Did she?" Hammond wondered aloud. "We haven't kept it a secret from her that we were under a serious threat if we didn't turn her over. I'm going to reserve judgment a while longer."

"I'm not falling into that trap again," O'Neill demurred. "Just when I was starting to believe..," He broke off and walked away. Hammond's theory held a great deal of seduction right now. And seduction was another word that he really wished he hadn't thought of in even the remotest connection with Evree.

&&&&&

"Well met, my queen," Anubis greeted Evree as she was ushered into his presence. "But I see that you have arrived alone. Your offspring..?"

"Were defective," Evree replied with a careless shrug. "It is of no import. They were but the first of many."

"Indeed," Anubis agreed. "Ahriman said the Tau'ri held you hostage. True?"

Evree laughed scornfully. "I sought refuge from Ahriman there. Once I had leisure to think, knowing that he was crafting an alliance with you, it took no great wit to realize I was his bargaining chip."

"And now you deliver yourself to me without bargaining first," Anubis observed. "But I am feeling in a generous mood, little queen. Name a price so that we might haggle."

"I ask but two things," Evree answered. "I would request that you not destroy the Tau'ri, as doubtless you plan to do regardless of the fact they no longer withhold me from you. Even though I am their enemy, they have treated me well and kindly."

"And for the second?" Anubis asked, without actually agreeing to her first petition.

Eyes glowing like miniature supernovae, Evree practically growled, "I want Ahriman off of my planet."

&&&&&

"I don't get it." Daniel had been completely poleaxed by the news of Evree's betrayal. "Even if she didn't give a damn about us, I know she cares about her children. She'd never have left them behind, unless..,"

"I thought of that one too, Daniel," Jack said tiredly. "And for every act, every word she spoke, you can find more than one possible motive behind it. My advice is, give it up. We forgot the first rule."

"The first rule being?" Daniel prompted.

"If it looks like a Goa'uld and talks like a Goa'uld," O'Neill paraphrased. "Then it is one. We screwed up." He turned and walked away, not wanting to spend any more time talking about Evree.

"But what if it doesn't act like a Goa'uld?" Daniel murmured to himself.

&&&&

Sam, Jacob and Teal'c were all gathered around a communications console, eyes on the screen, which showed the face of General Hammond. They were being filled in on the current situation.

Teal'c took the news in stride. He had never been particularly optimistic that Evree would maintain her facade of humanity.

But Sam's reaction was nearly as strong as Daniel's had been. Jacob, for the most part, was silent and thoughtful. He waited until Hammond had finished speaking before making comment.

"And she actually harmed no one?" There was as little inflection in his voice as he could manage. Jacob didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, but it did seem to him to be atypical behavior for a Goa'uld.

"Handcuffed and gagged one guard and marched the other to the gate at gunpoint," Hammond reiterated.

"Was the guard hurt at all?" Jacob pressed.

"She didn't even knock him unconscious," the general admitted. He gave his friend a quizzical look. "Jacob, I can see where you're going with this, and I'd like nothing better than to have one Goa'uld in the universe that I can turn my back on in safety. But it doesn't explain why she went to Anubis willingly."

"If she had offered herself as a sacrificial lamb would you have let her go, sir?" Sam had seen the direction her father's questioning was taking as well. "Not only did we offer her asylum, we practically wrapped her in cotton wool."

"Well, until I have anything to contradict the facts as they stand," General Hammond replied slowly. "We're going to have to assume that Evree is hostile to us." He paused a moment. "One other thing, Major."

"Sir?"

"If the situation doesn't change before the quarantine is lifted," Hammond said. "Please don't mention it to Colonel O'Neill. He's taking it harder than he's willing to let on."

&&&&&

"I regret the necessity." An obvious lie, a total innocent, which Evree was certainly not, could spot that one. "But my need is such that I shall be forced to drug you, to keep you perpetually breeding."

"Not so fast," Evree said, raising a warning hand. "You have not yet agreed to my terms, Anubis. I will have an answer before I become your breeding machine." Evree almost despaired of the bitter edge that came into her voice. A true Goa'uld queen wouldn't mind that much, it was the purpose for which they were born.

"And if I do not agree to your terms?" Anubis' voice was the silk scarf, drifting down to reveal the keenness of the magician's blade.

"You well know that I, and I alone decide what traits my young shall have," Evree declared, drawing herself up to her full five foot nothing. "If you are to obtain what you desire, then first, you shall give me that which I desire."

"Well spoken," Anubis allowed grudgingly. "But you have left little room left to haggle."

"None at all, actually," Evree stated. "It is not like I am asking for all that much. Not in light of what you have to gain."

"If it weren't for the fact there was a malfunction in the mechanism," Anubis said slowly. "The Tau'ri would already be dying. Since there is now nothing to remedy, and I doubt that they would accept further communication from me, you have your first wish."

Evree nodded her head graciously. But she wasn't entirely willing to let things stand as they were. "And Ahriman?"

A slow smile spread across Anubis' face. Ahriman had been getting on his nerves from the moment that he had proposed the alliance. He would be doing himself as much of a favor as Evree. "Fast or slow?"

&&&&&&

Daniel was catching up on some of his backlog of notes when there was a knock at his door. He opened it to see O'Neill, dressed as though ready for something physically demanding.

"What's up, Jack?" he asked cautiously. O'Neill had been absolutely fanatical about calisthenics the past few days, and Daniel suspected that there was more behind it than a simple case of cabin fever.

O'Neill was practically jogging in place where he stood. "C'mon, Daniel," he invited. "Let's go work some of the kinks out."

"I'm already unkinked for the day," Daniel replied. "Besides, I have a ton of paperwork to catch up on, Jack. I think I'll have to give it a pass this time."

O'Neill's face fell. "You're sure?" he inquired. "I thought maybe we could do a little sparring or something, just to break up the monotony."

"Every time we spar, you end up kicking my ass," Jackson reminded him. "Instead of trying to drive yourself to exhaustion, Jack, why don't you try talking about it?"

"Haven't got the slightest idea what you're talking about," O'Neill lied.

"Fine," Daniel said with a trace of asperity. "But some of us do still have some work to do." He ostentatiously turned his back on O'Neill and began shuffling through a stack of papers and found something that he had not put there. "What in the hell?"

"What is it?" Hopefully something that would get Daniel out of his room and into the gym.

"It's a manuscript written in Goa'uld," Daniel muttered.

"And it's special.., why?" queried O'Neill. To the best of his knowledge, Daniel had truckloads of documents in about every language imaginable. And a few that weren't.

"It wasn't there last week," Daniel answered distractedly. "And I can tell it's not an old text, because it's written in magic marker."

"So where did it come from?" Jack would have kicked himself if he could have reached. Where else could a brand-spanking new document written in Goa'uld have come from?

"Yeah," the scholar agreed with the expression on O'Neill's face. "It's from Evree."


	13. Queen Evree

81

For those of you anxiously awaiting the next chapter, my apologies, but I've been without power for nearly three days. It is not a good thing when you can see your breath sitting in the living room.

Queen Evree

Evree paced the spacious confines of her quarters aboard Anubis' ship and wryly noted the contrast between them and the much smaller and infinitely more Spartan quarters she'd briefly occupied at the SGC until she'd been moved to medical.

Now, instead of a plain, flannel nightgown, she was arrayed in brilliant silks and satins. She considered it ironic that Anubis should put so much at her disposal when he planned to move her into a breeding tank and keep her there. And even more so when she thought of how much more contented, if confused, she'd been among the Tau'ri.

&&&&&

"Well? What does it say?" Jack was hovering over Daniel, so much so, in fact, that Daniel had had to ask him to move out of his light three times now.

"I'm working on it, Jack," Daniel replied with exaggerated patience. "It's not as easy as you might think. For one thing, there are terms here for which I have no referent. For another, it looks like she was writing in some kind of code as well."

"Code?" O'Neill's eyebrows shot up. "How many people does she think can read Goa'uld around here?"

"She really wasn't here long enough to find out," Daniel pointed out, eyes still glued to Evree's note, trying to decipher it. "If I'm right, this cartouche at the bottom is her name. It certainly doesn't appear anywhere else."

"We already know her name," Jack said impatiently. "I want to know what she..," He broke off suddenly, as though rehearsing what to say next. "What the double-crossing little back-stabber has to say."

Daniel bit back a grin. Jack was bending over backwards so far to keep Evree as the villain of the piece that he was about to fall flat on his ass. "Jack," he suggested mildly. "This is still going to take a while, and I'll probably get it done faster without you circling me like a vulture. Maybe you ought to talk to General Hammond about it. I'm pretty sure he'll want to know about it."

"Stop looking over your shoulder and driving you nuts?" O'Neill ventured. Daniel's politely worded phrases had sunk in and he realized he was making himself obnoxious.

"Well." Daniel found himself torn between friendship and honesty. He decided the friendship should be strong enough to tolerate a little honesty. "Yes, actually. Listen, Jack, I promise I will call you the minute I have it translated."

"Yeah, well..," Jack was feeling acutely embarrassed now. "I'll just go.., tell Hammond about it."

"You do that, Jack," Daniel answered evenly, and gave a sigh of relief when O'Neill left the room.

&&&&&

"What precisely do you think General Hammond meant about O'Neill taking the news of Evree's behavior hard?" Teal'c asked Sam. Jacob had had other things to attend to for a while, so the two of them had been left to their own devices for a while.

"I know we weren't around them that much," Sam responded, a little shocked that the usually observant Jaffa had missed what had seemed incredibly obvious to her. "But couldn't you feel the sparks shooting between the two of them?"

"O'Neill and Evree?" It was Teal'c's turn to be shocked. "I am sure that you must be mistaken, Major Carter."

"You think?" Sam's eyes were twinkling now. "Then why did Evree say that she didn't feel complete when Jack wasn't around? And why did Jack delegate me to take Evree off his hands quote, before I kill her, unquote, and then shows up before more than an hour has passed."

The Jaffa looked thoughtful, then shook his head. "It cannot be," he muttered. "O'Neill hates the Goa'uld even more than I." His voice, however, lacked conviction.

"He hates Goa'uld who fight us, kill people, torture people and are megalomaniacs," Sam amended. "What about one who doesn't and isn't?"

Teal'c still looked scandalized. "O'Neill and Evree?" he repeated.

&&&&

When the summons came for Evree to dine with Anubis, she didn't feel she could refuse, much though she wanted to. At the moment, food had absolutely not appeal for her, and yet, she knew that she would have to eat, maintain a facade of normality.

To further the illusion that all was well and that she was a willing conspirator, she even summoned slaves to adorn her in regal splendor. Jewels at her throat, wrists and ankles, and an elaborate coiffure. She looked at the final results in a mirror and suppressed the desire that O'Neill could see her thus, just once.

With a sigh, she rose to her feet and suffered herself to be escorted into Anubis' presence.

&&&&&

"Jack." Hammond spoke just to call a halt to O'Neill's pacing. "Daniel is good at what he does. He'll decipher the message."

"Probably just a farewell screw you," Jack grumbled. "I guess she figured stabbing us in the back wasn't enough, so she had to kick us in the..,"

"I think I've got it." Daniel burst into the room, notebook in hand, interrupting O'Neill's tirade.

&&&&&&

"I must compliment you on your choice of hosts," Anubis remarked as Evree settled herself on the divan on the opposite side of the low table from him. "Absolutely exquisite."

"Thank you," Evree murmured. Now was the time to preen, to boast, to say all the right things to convince Anubis of her willingness to ally herself with him. And yet, the words would not come, they stuck in her throat. She lounged back, giving him a seductive smile, every gesture carefully calculated to foster the effect of the words she could not bring herself to say.

"You speak little," Anubis observed. "And yet you have this day stolen Ahriman's alliance out from under him. Does that not please you?"

Evree found herself shrugging, reacting rather than thinking things through first. She had to hasten to repair the damage. "I have nothing against our alliance. If I seem to have reservations, it is merely because I had to steal the opportunity to make an alliance in which I was an integral part of the agreement."

"You would not have offered yourself to me if Ahriman had not used you as the basis of our alliance?" At least he didn't try to deny that she had been right about being the focal point of the agreement.

This time the shrug was calculated. "Could I not have bargained better on my own behalf?" Evree inquired lazily. "That I was able to bargain at all was only due to your unprecedented generosity."

Anubis laughed. "I like your spirit, Evree," he rejoined. "When I have overcome all my enemies and taken my place as ruler of the cosmos and have no need of further warriors, I shall release you from breeding to have you rule at my side."

More likely to be used as another trophy to prove his dominance, Evree thought sourly. But she did not let her thoughts show in her expression. She dared not let her guard down for even a moment. That one slip could have been excessively costly had she not been able to effect some damage control. But better not to make mistakes than to have to constantly be correcting them. "Do you believe that it will be long?" she queried, trying to keep the despair out of her voice. Then, just for good measure, she added, "One sees so little from the inside of a breeding tank."

Anubis laughed again. "You shall breed me many fine warriors," he commented. "With your spirit, how could I fail to be victorious?"

&&&&&&

"That's it?" O'Neill's voice rose in indignation. "She's been planning the whole thing from the get go and all the note says, essentially, is thanks and please take care of the kids."

"She really didn't have a lot of privacy," Daniel pointed out, sounding a little apologetic. "I'm amazed that she managed this much."

"And considering where it was found," General Hammond added. "She had to have written it before she actually gave birth to her children."

Jack was not appeased. "Asking for asylum then taking off before the paperwork is all filled out," he grumbled. He looked over to the enlisted man at the door. "Soldier, let me see your lighter."

"Excuse me, sir?" the private said, perplexed by the request.

"I know that you smoke," O'Neill stated, trying not to loose his temper on someone who had done nothing to merit it. "I need to borrow your lighter."

Mystified, but obedient, the guard handed over his lighter.

"And here's all this is good for," Jack remarked grimly, snatching Evree's note out of Daniel's hand and setting it afire.

"Hey!" Daniel protested. "I was going to keep that." He watched as the page blackened, turning to ash from one end to the other, then his look of dismay became one of consternation. "Wait a minute, there's more on there, the heat's bringing it out."

O'Neill hastily stomped the fire out, with, it must be admitted, a little more force than was absolutely necessary. "Even when she's not here she's got to be a pain in the ass."

Daniel carefully picked up the remains. Since he had already solved Evree's code, it wasn't going to be as difficult to translate as the initial message had. "Here's a new cartouche," he muttered. "It seems to come out as 'the warrior who does not play well with others'." He blinked, then looked up. "I'm guessing that would be you, Jack."

O'Neill covered his eyes with one hand. "I'd say that's a good guess," he agreed reluctantly. "How long will it take before you can translate the rest?"

"Just a minute," Jackson assured him. "I've already worked out the code. She hasn't changed that."

Hammond had remained silent during the exchange, and he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable now. Daniel was the only one who could translate the message, but if it got too personal.., He salved his conscience with the thought that as commanding officer, even a personal note could contain information he needed to know. And self-honesty prompted him to admit that he was more than a little curious.

"She says that no one ever showed her the consideration that you have from the very start unless they had no choice," Daniel replied softly. "She says that she's going to miss you more than any of us."

After that, there was a long, awkward silence. Then, O'Neill delicately gathered up the charred paper and left.

&&&&&&

Evree eyed the breeding tank, waging a losing battle against letting her disdain for the thing show. Not that she truly expected to be there long, but still. She nearly jumped out of her host when a pair of hands came to rest on her arms.

"I did not mean to startle you," Anubis rumbled. "But I had not expected to find you here, given that you seemed, shall we say, less than eager to fulfill the role for which you were designed."

"I wanted to see it," Evree stated flatly. She viewed the chamber that contained her soon-to-be prison. "You could at least place it where I could gaze out and see the passing stars."

"If you like," Anubis answered indifferently. Where the tank was, was a matter of complete disinterest to him. All that mattered about the tank was that there would soon be a breeding queen in it again. "You are not like the others."

"Other Goa'uld, or other queens?" Evree inquired, stalling for time as much as anything.

"Either, both," Anubis responded. "I certainly never had a queen complain about the location of the breeding tank. I think what seems so.., alien about you is that you seem to take an interest in your surroundings."

"Is being observant not a survival trait?" Evree hazarded. "And surely, Goa'uld are survivors if naught else."

"There is that," he muttered grudgingly. "And yet, you still are unlike any other."

"Which will make no difference whatsoever to you as long as I breed you young that you can turn into your warriors," Evree rejoined.

"And for that, I will tolerate any number of idiosyncrasies," the lord of death replied.

&&&&&&

Jack sat in his room, alone, staring at the paper with the burned edges. In truth, it was of no use to him, since he could not, on his own, read it. And even with Daniel's help, he wasn't sure that he comprehended it. But the one person who could make it clear to him was who knows how many million miles away. And the tone of both notes were starting to wear holes in the shell of dislike and distrust he had re-built around himself.

"I kind of miss you too, Evree," he murmured into the silence. Long moments after the last faint echo of his whisper had died away, he sat. At last, he turned out the light and went to bed, there to toss and turn the better part of the night away.


	14. Planning Stage

87

Planning Stage

General Hammond had had a far from peaceful night as well. People were starting to get a little edgy from being confined in quarantine, but he didn't feel that he dared to lift it, yet. And that was far from the entire scope of his worries. Something that he hadn't told O'Neill was that the bureaucrats had finally okayed giving Evree asylum. About three hours after she'd left. But now, in light of that note, things had changed.., again. He had always had a sneaking suspicion that Evree might have had altruistic motives. Given that, she simply could not be allowed to sacrifice herself on their behalf. In that long distance conversation he'd had with the Carter's and Teal'c, he had deliberately drawn Jacob out, trying to find out if there were others who felt the same way.

But why did it have to be Anubis? Hammond felt that his people would have far better odds of survival if he threw them, unarmed, into a lion's den.

&&&&&&

Evree stared out at the moving panorama of stars without seeing them.

"Oh, Draylea," she murmured. "What am I to do now? I cannot give Anubis that which he desires. It would be a thousand times worse than if I had done so for Ahriman. And what is to become of me? Of us?"

"You have no need to worry for me." Draylea's thoughts echoed serenely in her mind. "I am still attractive, and Anubis' Jaffa are still men. I will remain near you."

"Foolish child," Evree scolded gently. "If you had the wit, you would find a way to put as much distance between you and Anubis as possible."

"I won't leave you, Evree." The host sounded stubborn. "I will let nothing short of death separate us."

&&&&&&&

Hammond had put a lot of thought into things, and had arrived at some hard won decisions. He knew he was exceeding his authority on this, but by the time Washington gave him a green light, it would probably be way too late.

He had come to the conclusion that friend or foe, Evree could not remain in Anubis' hands. The might and size of his army had already reached terrifying proportions. But since there was still some question as to where Evree's sympathies lay, they couldn't just go in and destroy Anubis' queen as they had before. It was going to be a mission that redefined the term 'surgical strike'. It was going to be at least as delicate and dangerous as brain surgery.

Now it was time to get the surgeon prepped.

&&&&&

O'Neill gazed into the tank full of baby symbiotes. "They don't seem to be moving around much today," he observed. "Are they all right?"

"Physically they are fine, at the moment," Marvath answered. "I have been monitoring them most carefully. But they refuse to take sustenance."

"How do you feed them?" Jack let his curiosity sidetrack him for a minute.

"The liquid contains easily assimilated nutrients," the Tok'ra explained. "They should be thriving on it. But while it is there, ready for the taking, they avoid ingesting it."

O'Neill's attention drifted back to the tank. "Hey, kids," he said, for once not feeling awkward about it. "Your mom asked us to take care of you. She wants you to be healthy." He paused, trying to think of why they would stop eating. "Don't worry about your mom. We're going to get her back. Soon."

If he didn't know better, O'Neill would swear that the little Goa'uld heard him, and more to the point, understood him. Whether it was just a physical reaction to the stimulus of his voice or what, they started moving with more vigor than they had the past hour he'd been there.

Marvath started checking the complex array of readouts attached to the tank. "It worked," he remarked in awed tones. "They are taking in the nutrients. How did you know?"

Jack looked sheepish. "My mother had to go be with my grandmother just before she died, and she was gone for a week. After a few days, I went on a hunger strike. I figured that if I was starving to death, Dad would go get her."

Marvath allowed himself to be curious, now that the newborns no longer seemed to be in any danger. "What happened?"

Jack laughed. "Dad psyched me. He went along with the gag. And sure enough, it wasn't long before I got sufficiently hungry to cave in. You skip a couple of meals when you're ten and it feels like you haven't eaten in forever."

"Yes." Marvath smiled as he turned back to his readings. "The young always have fast metabolisms."

O'Neill turned his attention to the tank once more. "They do seem to be a little livelier than when I got here," he remarked.

"How do you intend to keep your promise to them?" Marvath inquired.

"I don't know," O'Neill admitted. "But I'll find a way." His expression became incredibly bleak for a moment. "I don't like letting kids down." He turned and left before Marvath could ask why.

&&&&&

"I had thought that we were going to go and attend to Ahriman," Evree pointed out. Anubis had begun pressing her about taking up her duties as a breeder. "It is little enough satisfaction to allow me after years as his chattel."

"I have my reasons for remaining in this part of space for the moment," Anubis answered. "And I am anxious to begin adding to my army."

"Your army is already quite large," Evree replied. "I wish to be able to savor my revenge. And I want what was promised me before I deliver on what I promised you." She hoped that Anubis would overlook the fact that she had not actually promised him anything, unless you counted tacitly.

Anubis stared at her long and hard. "You are quite willful," he remarked, surprisingly mildly. "But a bargain is a bargain. You shall not have to enter the tank until such time as I can attend to the nuisance that is Ahriman."

As he left, Evree let a heart-felt sigh of relief escape. Another reprieve. But once Ahriman had been disposed of, she would have no further recourse, no way to put Anubis off any further. She could not, and would not, breed for him. But what to do?

&&&&&

"It's a very dangerous mission," Hammond finished up his proposal. "And since I don't have time to get official sanctioning for it, I'm going to have to make it on a volunteer basis."

"I volunteer," Jack said, almost before the words had left the general's mouth.

"Me too," Daniel added.

"Are you sure that it's wise for you to go, Dr. Jackson?" Hammond asked. "Considering how you and Anubis have clashed in the past. And you're human again. Much more vulnerable than when you were ascended."

"Well I hadn't intended on walking right up to Anubis this time," Daniel answered. "And since we do have some history, I feel like I owe him one. More than one. Stealing his new queen ought to be just about right."

General Hammond turned to the other volunteer. "You're sure too, Jack?" he inquired. "I know that you always had mixed feelings where Evree was concerned."

"Not mixed enough to want Anubis to have her," O'Neill replied. "And maybe if we have her around a while longer, my feelings won't be so mixed. I'll either learn to like her, or I'll kill her."

"I hope you're just joking on that last part," Hammond said sternly. "Because after the brass gave us permission to give her asylum, they'd rake you over the coals alive if you harmed her."

"I haven't yet," Jack responded mildly. "Do we have a plan here, or do we just arm ourselves to the teeth and make it up as we go?"

&&&&&

"There was another message from Earth," Jacob announced as he rejoined Sam and Teal'c. "Sorry that I didn't call you, but there wasn't time."

"What did they say?" asked Sam eagerly. She could take being in an alien place, or, if she had to, even sitting around doing nothing. Just not both at once.

"Evidently they've decided to give Evree the benefit of the doubt," her father replied. "Col. O'Neill and Dr. Jackson are going to infiltrate Anubis' ship and attempt a rescue."

"What changed General Hammond's mind enough to 'give her the benefit of the doubt'?" Teal'c queried. "It is my experience that when the general makes up his mind, it takes something of great import to change it."

"Evree left a note," Jacob explained. "Apparently she wrote it some time before she gave birth to her young. And there was also a personal message on it for Col. O'Neill." His eyes flicked away from the pair for a moment.

"What did that message say?" Sam asked. She'd known that Evree had had feelings for Jack even if she wasn't sure herself what they were. Maybe the note would clarify things a little.

"They didn't say," Jacob answered. "But it seems to have been enough for them to decide that she shouldn't be with Anubis."

"A good tactical decision if nothing else," Teal'c agreed. When Sam looked askance at him, he elaborated. "Anubis' army is of alarming size. The last thing that any of us would want to see is how he could increase it with a new queen."

"I guess the personal stuff kind of distracted me from the military applications," Major Carter admitted sheepishly. "But you're right. Of all the disasters I can think of, Anubis having someone else to breed more super soldiers for him has to hit the top ten."

"Number one on the hit parade, unless I miss my guess," Jacob conceded. "I offered any help that we could, but General Hammond said that he didn't feel comfortable lifting the quarantine just yet."

"But he's letting Jack and Daniel break quarantine to go rescue Evree," Sam pointed out.

"He said that if they have been infected, then he has no misgivings about spreading a plague on Anubis' ship," Jacob replied. Both he and the general had agreed that it was best to maintain the quarantine, and Samantha would too, when she had time to think reasonably. "But he still didn't want to risk the two of you, or the Tok'ra." He added that last on to remind his daughter that they were not the only ones who would be at risk.

Sam looked ready to say something, then shut her mouth. She walked over to the table where Jacob and Teal'c had already spent quite a few hours. She picked up the deck of cards and started shuffling them. "Spit in the ocean, or five card stud?" she asked.

&&&&&

"Well," Evree muttered, more to herself than even to her host, seeing as it was only the two of them. "We are agreed that I cannot help increase the size of Anubis' army. That would defeat everything that I've worked for. Besides, he might go back on his word and destroy O'Neill..., I mean the Tau'ri."

The host, despite not having been directly addressed gave a little mental snicker. If Evree thought she could fool the body she was in, then the one who was really being fooled was the Goa'uld queen.

"Perhaps I should kill myself." Evree started mentally garbing herself in the robes of martyrdom. But she wanted the galaxy to be a better place. For her children, the Tau'ri, and in fact, everyone that did not wish to destroy it.

"And leave me?" Draylea asked pathetically. "I think you are getting ahead of yourself, Evree. There may still be other options."

"Such as?" Evree demanded. "I am here, cut off from any.., I won't say friends, but any who would possibly aid me. And I refuse to aid Anubis. What else is there but death?"

"I think that O'Neill will come to rescue you," Draylea answered. "He likes you."

"O'Neill?" Evree would just admit that she had some feelings for O'Neill. But she couldn't bring herself to believe that they were even close to being mutual. "You must be delusional, Draylea. O'Neill has, for the most part, good manners, that is all. He loathes me and all my kind."

"You're just afraid that if you believe that he likes you you'll be disappointed," the host pointed out. "Wait a while longer, Evree. Anubis did say he would wait until he's dealt with Ahriman."

"And what if he comes in here within the hour and says that he has done just that?" Evree inquired. "I have no way of gainsaying him. And I sincerely doubt that O'Neill, even if he were to come to my rescue would be here in time enough to be of any aid."

"O'Neill will come for you," Draylea repeated firmly. "Wait and see, Evree. Besides, if you want to be coldly logical about it, the Tau'ri can ill afford to have you breeding for Anubis."

"There is that," the Goa'uld mumbled dispiritedly. She had found the other notion infinitely more attractive. "Are you sure that O'Neill likes me?"

&&&&&

"Do you have everything?" For all that both O'Neill and Jackson were seasoned gate travelers, and that he had seen them off on literally hundreds of missions, Hammond was feeling edgy. He didn't like sending people into situations that he knew were this dangerous. But it was the only one that he thought he could live with.

"We should have," Daniel replied distractedly. He was trying to remember the layout of Anubis' ship and where the most likely place would be for him to hold Evree.

"We're loaded for bear," Jack agreed. "Or, Goa'uld, really." He looked into Hammond's eyes. "Don't worry, sir. We'll bring her back alive."

"Just you make sure that you come back alive," General Hammond directed. Then, seeing no other reason to delay, ordered, "Open the iris."

This would have been impossible to do, dialing to a ship in space gate or no, save that they still had the coordinates that Anubis had sent Evree when she had left. They had very cautiously verified that the ship was still there. Getting back would be easier, at least as far as dialing gate coordinates. Getting to the gate within the ship might constitute something of a problem.

"Wish us luck," Jack said jauntily. He had perked up considerably ever since Hammond had proposed the mission.

"Godspeed gentlemen," Hammond said solemnly, and watched them walk into the water surface of the wormhole.


	15. With a Capital T

95

With a Capital T

"My new queen is up to something," Anubis remarked, matter-of-factly.

"Surely no one with any wit would oppose you, Lord," his aide replied almost reflexively.

"About her wits I am not sure," Anubis admitted. "That one keeps her own counsel. But whoever heard of a queen who balked at breeding?"

The underling frowned. "An unnatural state of affairs. Are you sure you need a queen that badly, Lord Anubis? Your army is already mighty indeed."

"And I wish it to be mightier still," Anubis snapped. He paused a moment in reflection. "Have Evree watched. But discreetly, she is not to notice."

"I will attend to the details at once, Lord." And with a bow, he was gone.

"Just what are you up to, Evree?" Anubis murmured to himself.

&&&&&

"Was there a plan here that I didn't hear about?" Daniel whispered as he and O'Neill plastered themselves against a wall in a side corridor while a platoon of super soldiers marched by.

"You're the one that's familiar with the layout of the ship," O'Neill hissed, not quite willing to admit that no, he didn't have a plan.

"It's a big ship," Daniel murmured. "I didn't have time to get acquainted with the whole thing. But I think most of the living quarters are that way." He pointed in the direction of the corridor that Anubis' warriors had just marched down.

"Great," Jack muttered. "It looks like we're going to have to find another way around."

"Not to mention figure out a way to pinpoint her location," Daniel added. "I don't think sticking our heads into every door as we go by would be a viable option."

A lone figure was coming up the now empty corridor. Male, humanoid, but not Jaffa. Hopefully, Jack thought, not Goa'uld either, which had the potential of making him an excellent source of information.

&&&&&

Evree was almost ready to tear Draylea's hair out in frustration. For the past hour or more, she'd scarcely had a moment of privacy. No sooner had one slave left after inquiring if she would care for something to eat, than a Jaffa would beg admittance to offer to escort her on a tour of the ship. Did she wish to be bathed, massaged, read or sung to?

"I merely wish to be left alone," Evree grumbled. Then, it hit her. "He's monitoring my movements. Or deliberately circumscribing them. I had more freedom amongst the Tau'ri, who had no reason to trust me."

"We could test that," Draylea suggested tentatively.

"How so?" Evree was curious.

"Try leaving the room and see if there is ever a time in which there is no one in sight," Draylea elaborated.

"Interesting." Evree considered. "All right, I'll try it." She strode to the door purposefully and once it opened flung herself through it into a very startled Jack's arms. "O'Neill, I knew you'd come to rescue me."

&&&&&

"You did not warn me that your daughter has such formidable skills," Teal'c chided Jacob mildly.

Jacob made a face. "I forgot, myself," he admitted. "Never play poker with her when she out of sorts."

"Do you have anything else with which to wager?" Teal'c inquired. "I, myself, am, as I believe you put it, tapped out."

"Nothing that I can lose and still keep my dignity," Jacob grumbled. "I never did find out how she got so good at it."

Sam tossed their markers back to them. "Remember that guy I was dating when you were stationed in Nevada?"

The elder Carter looked thoughtful. "I seem to have a vague recollection," he answered slowly. "I don't believe I ever liked him, either. A real slick kid, too old for his years. But what does that have to do..," He broke off, and his eyes widened.

Sam shuffled the deck again, then turned over the first four cards. All aces. "I guess that I never did mention that his dad was a card sharp. Or that he was learning the trade."

"You cheated?" Teal'c was shocked nearly beyond speech.

"I prefer to say that I creatively engineered the outcome," Sam rejoined.

"She cheated," Jacob confirmed.

&&&&&

Jack almost reflexively returned the hug, albeit one-handed, his right hand encumbered by his weapon. Then, he gently disentangled himself from Evree, who did not seem to be inclined to let him go. "Think maybe we might see if we can get off Anubis' ship before we have the emotional reunion?" he suggested mildly. "Not that I'm generally adverse to having pretty girls throw themselves..,"

"Someone's coming!" Daniel, who had been watching the corridor, hissed urgently.

Evree nodded sadly as she allowed O'Neill to push her away from him. "Anubis is having me watched," she informed them. "I've scarcely had a moment's peace."

"Doesn't he have electronic surveillance?" O'Neill asked in surprise, as he and Daniel flattened themselves to the wall on either side of the door.

"He does," Evree replied. "But he also knows that there are always blind spots in any system. But if he has people with or near me at all times..,"

"Then he doesn't have to worry about the blind spots," Daniel supplied.

The door chirped to announce someone without, then opened to reveal Anubis' second in command.

Moments later, the trio left the room while the Goa'uld slept the sleep of the knocked unconscious on the floor of Evree's room, bound and gagged for good measure.

&&&&&

General Hammond looked at his watch, then, in disbelief at the clock on the wall for confirmation. They'd been gone less than an hour. So why did it feel like days?

&&&&&&

Daniel, Evree and O'Neill ducked back into a side corridor to avoid yet another troop of Anubis' super soldiers.

"You wouldn't happen to know a less conspicuous way out of here by any chance, would you?" Jack asked in a whisper.

Evree shook her head sadly. "I am truly grieved, O'Neill," she murmured. "But I neglected to learn the layout of the ship. I did not think I would need to know. At least, not for long."

"Why do you say that?" Daniel asked quietly as they cautiously started picking their way on a course infinitely less forgiving than a mine field.

"Well..," Evree floundered, then backed and filled. "Anubis did plan to keep me perpetually breeding. Knowledge of the ship would hardly be a prerequisite for that."

"I think I've figured out how to tell when you're lying," Jack remarked casually. "You sound so much more sincere and convincing than you do when you're telling the truth."

Evree, seeing no way out of that particular discussion decided that it was time for a change of subject. Besides, she really wanted to know. "Are my children well?"

&&&&&&

The cards had long since been set aside, and neither of the Carters nor Teal'c were bothering to hide the fact that they were all fidgeting. True, the team had been split before, but always when there was something else that needed to be done. There was seldom a time when their friends were in dire danger and they had, quite literally, nothing to do.

By tacit agreement, the room had been divided between them, and each paced, or pretended not to, within their own designated area.

It was probably the hardest work they'd done in years.

&&&&&

"Lord Anubis." The Jaffa was ashen-faced, and was barely managing not to tremble.

Anubis rose to his feet, towering over the bowed figure. "Speak," he boomed.

"Your aide has been found, bound, gagged and unconscious," the Jaffa managed to say, still leaving out one immensely pertinent fact.

"Where?" roared Anubis.

"The queen's quarters, Lord," the Jaffa returned.

"And was the queen still within?" Anubis' tones had dropped, become soft, silky, threatening. But he was already feeling the daggers of frustration digging into him for what he was certain the reply would be.

"No, Lord," the Jaffa admitted. He waited to be annihilated.

"Sound the alarms," Anubis ordered, other concerns taking precedence over killing the bearer of bad news. "She may still be on the ship. Find her."

&&&&&&

The sound of claxons rippled through the air in an ocean wave of cacophony.

"I believe I may have been missed," Evree murmured.

"Ya think?" Jack queried sarcastically. They dodged into a, thankfully, empty storage room as the corridors suddenly swarmed with hordes of Jaffa and super soldiers.

"Do you think they will seek us here?" inquired Evree in a small voice.

"How badly do you think Anubis will want you back?" Daniel asked pointedly.

Evree's face became a picture of misery. "They will look."

&&&&&&

General Hammond picked up his ringing phone. "Hammond," he answered a little abruptly, the quarantine was getting to him too, amongst other things. "Who? Curtis? Did you tell him that we were under quarantine?" Hammond could practically feel his blood pressure rising. Why was it that the bureaucrats always thought that the rules didn't apply to them? "Sit tight," he ordered. "I'll be right up."

&&&&&&

"I wonder..," Jacob broke the silence.

"Two hours and twenty-five minutes," Teal'c interrupted.

"And an odd number of seconds," Sam added for good measure. "Not that anyone's counting."

&&&&&&

"Well, we can't hide in here too long," Daniel remarked. "Sooner or later, someone's going to think to look here."

"Might there not be some sort of passage within the walls?" Evree suggested tentatively.

"I thought you said you didn't know the ship," O'Neill said accusingly.

"I don't." Evree took a step away from O'Neill, whom she'd been shadowing the whole time. "I saw it on the television. But I'm not a technical person. I truly do not know how much difference there is between the structures of buildings and ships."

"There should be some sort of duct or service crawlway," Daniel agreed. He started thumping the wall. O'Neill caught his wrist.

"Daniel," he said softly, with forced patience. "That may be the fastest way to find a duct. But if you're going to do that, you might as well hire a brass band."

"Oh." Daniel looked chagrined.

"Very oh," Jack agreed. "Why don't we try the obvious first? Like looking for some sort of hatch."

"You have no device for detecting such things?" Evree inquired. She wasn't sure just where Earth stood from a technological standpoint, but it seemed to her that such a simple thing ought to be within their scope.

"We were traveling light," Jack snapped. "We were more interested in carrying some firepower, not to mention getting here in good time to rescue someone who, so far, has been a hell of a lot more trouble than she's worth."

Evree looked as though he had struck her, and Jack suddenly felt like a horse's ass. But the situation was too urgent to stop for niceties. He'd apologize later. Preferably without an audience.

"I think I found it," Daniel informed them. He'd been carefully staying out of that little byplay. But he did intend to have a word with Jack later on.

"Well, it looks like a hatch," O'Neill agreed, inspecting it, and coincidentally turning his back on the still wounded looking Evree. "How were you planning on getting in?"

Daniel produced something that looked like a laser pointer. "A little gift from Sam," he explained. He flicked a switch, and systematically melted the rivets that held the hatch in place. "It's a miniature plasma torch. Limited fuel supply, though. We'd better hope we don't need it again."

Jack was eyeing the hole in the wall. "That's pretty conspicuous, wouldn't you say?" he queried. "We're going to have to find a way to camouflage that, or they're going to figure out where we went pretty fast."

There were several crates in the room, but they were large, meant to be moved with machinery, not muscles. The efforts of all three combined would not be able to shift one, that was obvious just from looking. But O'Neill was correct in that the hole in the wall would have to be disguised.

By dint of frantic, albeit silent searching, they finally managed to unearth some smaller debris. It wouldn't hide the hole completely, but if piled in front of it, with the last person in pulling it as close in as possible, it might fool any searchers long enough to give them a little breathing space.

"You first, Daniel," O'Neill instructed. "It's going to be one at a time, and you seem to have the best idea of where we're going."

Daniel obediently climbed in the hole, crawled in a good couple of body lengths and waited for the others to join him.

"Get in, Evree," Jack said, a little impatiently when she paused beside their escape route.

"O'Neill, I..," she began.

"Later," he halted her. "Let's concentrate on getting out of here in one piece, okay? Then you can tell me what a jerk I am."

Evree gave him one last, puzzled look before crawling in after Daniel.

Jack was just pulling their makeshift barrier into place when he heard someone enter the room. "Let's shift it, kids," he urged his companions in a whisper. "We've got company coming."

&&&&&&

"I'm sorry, sir," Hammond said, sounding not the least bit sorry. "But quarantine means just that. This entire base is under quarantine and will remain so until I, personally am sure that there is no longer any need for it."

The general was still speaking over a phone, but now he could see the ubiquitous Curtis, hovering near the front gate where he'd been harassing the guard.

"General, my orders come straight from Washington," Curtis replied. "I need to get into your facility and speak with our pris.., guest."

Hammond had managed to keep the number of people who knew about Evree's departure to a bare minimum. Curtis hadn't been on the list.

"Sir," Hammond replied with more than a touch of asperity. "I will not risk setting off a world-wide epidemic. Not even on the orders of the president himself."

"How many people are sick?" Curtis pressed.

"None at present," the general admitted. "But I felt the possibility was real enough to take drastic measures. I haven't yet found any reason to cancel the order."

"Does this have anything to do with giving asylum to that Goa'uld?" Curtis asked suspiciously.

"It does." Hammond didn't see any way around that one without out and out lying, and he really hated lying to anyone. Except, of course, for anyone on the wrong side. But some days it was hard to tell which was which.

"You realize that I'm going to have to make a report about this?" Curtis was all questions today.

"I'm a career military man," Hammond replied. "Everything has to be reported. I know that."

"And before I leave, I need an interview with the Goa'uld," Curtis went on. "Like this will be satisfactory. Just."

General Hammond was starting to think longingly of a glass of water and a couple of aspirin. And, preferably, all his people, plus Evree, back safe and sound. How was he going to deal with this without letting Curtis know that Evree was not only not on the base, but not even on the planet?

"Well, general," Curtis groused. "I'm a busy man. My time is valuable. And you're keeping me here waiting."

Suddenly, General Hammond had an inspired idea. "If you want a face to face," he said. "I could allow you to break quarantine. But once inside, you'll have to remain in quarantine until such a time as I see fit to lift it." There was the barest glimmer of an idea in his head that once he had Curtis inside, he could set in motions the wheels to give the Washington flunky the royal runaround until such a time as he had Evree.

Or, quite possibly, if O'Neill and Jackson's mission went wrong, all the rope that Curtis would need to hang him.

&&&&&&

Daniel stopped at a junction in the ducts, large enough to permit their group a small, quick conference. "I'm getting all turned around," he admitted. "I'm not entirely sure which way we're going now."

"That way." Evree pointed.

The men paused to turn and stare at her.

"One thing that is common to all ships with gates is the location of that gate," she explained. "We are going to the stargate, are we not?"

"We are indeed," O'Neill agreed. "Evree, you're doing the driving now."

"But I am not..," Evree started in.

"Just point out the way," Jack muttered. "And I'd suggest that we move it. I think I can hear something that says Anubis' boys found out which way we went."


	16. Denoument

104

Denouement

The rest of the trip through the ducts was carried on at a fast, silent crawl. None of them spoke a word. When they reached a junction, Daniel would merely stop until Evree pointed out the way.

There was the occasional screen-like grille along the way, which caused them some consternation, but they slipped by them as quickly as they could, and so far no one had spotted them. Or seemed to, at least.

Daniel had just scurried past another of the vents, not even stopping to look through it, when Evree grabbed his ankle.

He turned around and looked at her, and saw that she had inched back out of eyeshot of the vent. Then, he looked out.

Well, the good news was that they had made their way to the gate room. The bad news was that it wasn't empty.

&&&&&

Curtis was starting to smell a rat. So far he had been allowed to see, from a distance of several feet, Evree's offspring. He had met the Tok'ra named Marvath and discussed said offspring. But Evree was conspicuous in her absence. So was that pain in the ass colonel, come to think of it.

"All right, general," he said impatiently as they left the infirmary. "Where exactly was the Goa'uld when you put this facility under quarantine?"

"Right here," Hammond replied completely truthfully. "Right in that infirmary, as a matter of fact."

"But she's not here now." Curtis didn't even bother to try to make it sound like a question.

"No, she's not." Hammond felt safe enough telling Curtis now. He wasn't going anywhere.

"And why wasn't I informed?" Curtis' voice was rising, as was his color.

"I informed the president," Hammond reported. "Even if I had been inclined to tell you, I had no method of contacting you, since you neglected to provide that piece of information on your last visit."

"And would you care to share now and let me know where she is?" Curtis was starting to calm down already and think. He could see how he'd been suckered in, and there really wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. But since his job was to gather information, then gather information he would. Such information as he could pry out of the close-mouthed general.

&&&&&

The refugees had pulled back from the vent for a whispered conference.

"Those.., things are what Anubis wants to use my children for?" Evree was horrified, bordering on a very real state of shock.

"That's why we came to rescue you," Daniel said gently. "So Anubis can never do that to your children."

"O'Neill." Evree scarcely acknowledged Daniel's reassurance. "Will you promise me something? Please?"

Jack was going to try to put her off, pointing out that working out an escape plan was the immediate priority, but there was such a sense of urgent desperation in Evree's voice that he couldn't bring himself to. "Depends on what you want me to promise," he replied cautiously. He felt he had to hedge his bet on that since he never knew what was going to come out of that crazy Goa'uld's mouth.

Evree looked at him for a long moment as though memorizing his features. Finally, she spoke. "If the situation becomes such that we are unable to escape, I wish you to kill me." Before O'Neill could protest, she raised a hand to forestall him. "I will not breed those.., those atrocities. And I feel sure that the torments that Ahriman visited upon me would be as nothing to what Anubis would devise for anyone who dared to stand in his way." She looked down for a brief second, then straight into Jack's eyes. "You would not allow me to suffer so, would you, O'Neill?"

"I promise." He said it very quickly, before it stuck in his throat. But she was right, that was actually the worst part, she was right.

&&&&&

"So you're trying to tell me that a Goa'uld willingly sacrificed herself for the good of mankind?" Curtis couldn't possibly have sounded more skeptical.

"That's how it sounded from her note," General Hammond replied. "It was enough to plant a seed of doubt in my mind."

"And so you took it upon yourself to send in a rescue team for someone who may not have actually needed rescuing?" Curtis pressed. "You must know that you have overstepped your authority on this one, General."

"That's why I didn't order the rescue mission," Hammond explained. "It was strictly on a volunteer basis."

"Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson volunteered to rescue a Goa'uld?" From the way the bureaucrat sounded, Hammond might as well have said that they traveled to Anubis' ship on flying pigs.

"They did," General Hammond reported. "And since they, more than anyone else, with the exception of Dr. Frasier have spent time interacting with her, perhaps that will give you some insight into just why I thought a rescue mission was in order."

Curtis was still having trouble dealing. He sat down in the nearest chair. "I've read the reports," he muttered. "Colonel O'Neill hates the Goa'uld. And he volunteered to rescue her." He shook his head, but the facts didn't change. "General, could I trouble you for a glass of water?"

&&&&&

Skipping straight past the uncomfortable moment there might have been if they had had the leisure for it, Daniel said, "First, let's see if we can keep you from having to carry out that promise, Jack."

"Fine by me," O'Neill agreed. "I don't suppose you happen to have any more fancy gadgets that will penetrate those super boy's armor, do you?"

Jackson shook his head. "What you saw was what I had," he admitted. "And the fuel cell needs to be recharged on that. What's left wouldn't be good for more than a couple of short bursts. No concentrated cutting."

"Stabbing instead of slicing?" Jack suggested. He was beginning to get the glimmer of an idea.

&&&&&

"Report." Anubis' voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"The body, Lord, of one of the slaves. His wounds seemed to be self-inflicted, however."

"And the queen?" Anubis cared less than nothing about the life of a slave, but Evree still had some value to him.

"Still no sign, Lord Anubis," the lackey admitted. "And we have nearly finished searching the ship. I do not believe she is within."

"But she must be," Anubis growled. "For I have been assured that neither the gate nor the rings have been activated. And the fliers are all accounted for. Evree is still on this ship. As is whoever activated the gate before she went missing."

"But if everyone searches and she is still yet to be found, what then, Lord?" He was not Anubis' best and brightest, and was too in awe of his lord to dare an original thought.

"Continue on as you are," Anubis replied indolently, lazing back in his seat. "Make sure that all possible escape routes are guarded and continue to search." He barked out a short, unpleasant laugh. "If my little queen does not stick her neck out soon enough to suit me, I shall have to devise a way to flush her out of the hole she is hiding in."

&&&&&&

Animal silent and stealthy, O'Neill crept up behind the super soldiers guarding the gate. He barely dared to breathe. It was all going to have to be timed so carefully. He trusted Daniel implicitly, but even if he put that much faith in Evree, and the jury was still out on that one, they had never before worked as a team, and couldn't predict each other's moves.

He'd known the mission was going to be dangerous, but now it was starting to acquire the feel of suicidal.

Once O'Neill was in what he felt was the optimal position, he nodded.

The grate in the gate room crashed to the floor, and Daniel and Evree popped out, arguing loudly.

The soldiers immediately headed towards the newcomers, almost, but not quite in unison. Jack took advantage of them being slightly out of sync. He came up behind the one that was lagging back a pace or two, and brought his fist down towards the thing's left shoulder. Just as he was about to make contact, he flipped on the plasma cutter, which, luckily for all of them, went through both the armor and the soldier inside it. He repeated the move on the second soldier before it had time to realize what had happened to its companion.

Seeing the second guard fall, Daniel began frantically dialing for Earth.

&&&&&&

Jacob had sat down for a moment, but he didn't realize that he was in imminent danger of being throttled by either one of his companions for the way he was tapping his fingers on the tabletop. He looked at said companions. Teal'c was standing in front of a picture that Selmac was fond of, staring at it intently, hands crossed behind his back. One good look at the big Jaffa showed that he was tensed and ready for action, even though there was no action to be had. His daughter wasn't even hiding the fact that she was pacing now. Then, she looked at the clock.

"It's been almost five hours," she remarked, her tones laden with worry. "Don't you think..,"

"That's all we've been doing," her father pointed out. "And all it's done is given us all a prize case of nerves. Stealth takes time, you know that, Sam."

"And stealth will be what is needed aboard Anubis' ship if the mission is to be successful," Teal'c added, not even looking away from the picture.

"Why does it always seem to take longer when it's someone else doing it, though?" Sam muttered rhetorically.

&&&&&&&

The gate opened, but instead of herding their small group through it, Daniel was surprised to see Jack halt by one of the fallen soldiers.

"Uh, Jack, we really don't have a lot of time," he commented diffidently.

"And I'm thinking that we really don't want Anubis to know that we managed to off a couple of his toys," O'Neill replied. "They're going to have to go with us."

"O'Neill is correct." Not surprisingly, Evree backed him up. "Anubis would be even more set on destroying you all if he considered you that much of a threat."

With a long-suffering sigh, but with the tacit admission that they were right, Daniel went and grabbed the feet of one of the soldiers while O'Neill took the shoulders.

&&&&&

"Incoming wormhole, sir," the technician informed Hammond.

"Where's the source?" Hammond asked. Curtis was watching curiously, but staying out of the way, for the moment. He still seemed to be a little rattled.

"The coordinates for the rescue mission, sir," was the reply.

"Open the iris," General Hammond ordered. As he gave the order, an armed team drew down on the gate, just in case.

The first two, people, for want of a better word, very obviously did not come through the gate under their own power, but looked as though they had been tossed through, as indeed they were. Everyone became even more alert, if that were possible, seeing that they were two of Anubis' super soldiers, but the forms lay there, unmoving, dead.

Then, Jack and Daniel came through the gate with Evree between them.

"Home and safe, as you can see," Jack said, looking extremely self-satisfied.

Evree surprised them all when she suddenly burst into tears.

Feeling awkward as hell, especially in front of everyone, but unable to bring himself to deny her the small, or maybe not so small comfort, O'Neill put his arm around her and let her cry on his shoulder.

&&&&&&

Anubis' ship rang with the echoes of his rage. Not only was his queen gone before she could even begin to breed for him, but two of his soldiers had simply disappeared into thin air. Or, more likely, the stargate. But there was no way to trace whence the travelers had gone. Somehow, someone had managed to set a device that deleted the history read-outs. He had no way of knowing where they had gated to. although he had his suspicions.

For now, he had other things to attend to. But soon, very soon, he must deal with the unexpectedly troublesome Tau'ri.

&&&&&&

Teal'c was pleased that the quarantine had been lifted as he now walked through the corridors of what now, more than any other place, was home to him. But his contentment received a check when he saw Evree, slinking through another corridor, checking around corners before she passed by and generally acting suspicious. He began to follow her.

It was not a difficult task, really. It didn't seem to have occurred to the Goa'uld queen that she could be seen from behind as well as in front. The longer he trailed after her, the more it seemed to the Jaffa that she wasn't so much trying not to be seen by everyone, since she passed by many people, but that perhaps she was avoiding one person in particular.

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he allowed himself to catch up with her. Goa'uld she might be, but the human body she inhabited was small and fragile.

"Evree." He spoke her name suddenly, and she jumped visibly. "My apologies for startling you, but is there something amiss?"

Evree looked at him like he was insane. She still didn't know how things stood with.., other people, unwilling to admit to even herself that she had been thinking about O'Neill. But to have the renegade Jaffa show concern for her was beyond confusing. "Would it matter to you?" she asked cautiously.

"If it had not, I would not have asked," he stated quietly. "You move as though you are trying to avoid someone or something. Let me assure you that this base is secure."

"I am not afraid," Evree replied haughtily, with a toss of her head. The effect was marred, however, by the fact that her eyes kept darting about as though she expected someone, or something, to jump out at her at any moment.

"Tell that to someone who has no eyes," Teal'c scoffed. But the tension she was radiating was unsettling. "Perhaps you would be more at ease somewhere out of the public corridors?" He motioned to a currently empty conference room.

Evree slipped inside as though both Anubis and Ahriman were after her, which if they knew precisely where to look, no doubt they would be. But Teal'c did not believe that it was Goa'uld that were making her behave this way. Especially when she visibly relaxed once the door was shut behind them.

"Well?" Teal'c prompted. "What is out there that makes you look like you fear you are walking into a trap?"

"Was it really so very obvious?" Evree asked plaintively. "I didn't think it was. But for all the size of this place, one keeps seeing the same people, over and over again. And there I some people that do not wish to see me."

That statement in itself confirmed the Jaffa's suspicions. He had already spoken to O'Neill and gotten caught up on what had transpired while he and Major Carter had been in exile, as it were. "You mean that you were avoiding O'Neill," he corrected her.

"After I embarrassed him in front of both superiors and underlings, he cannot possibly wish to see me," she murmured defensively.

"So you are doing this for O'Neill?" Teal'c crossed his arms across the expanse of his chest. "If so, then you are operating under a false premise. He wishes to speak to you."

"He cannot." Evree turned her back on Teal'c, attempting to hide the fact that her eyes were welling up with tears again. "I cannot."

Teal'c walked over to her, coming close, but not too close, her nerves were starting to show again. "O'Neill will not harm you," he said gently. "Surely you know that by now."

Evree nodded, and tried to suppress a sniffle. "I know that," she began.

O'Neill came in, and at first, all he saw was Teal'c's broad back. "There you are, Teal'c," he started in without preamble. "Someone said that they thought they'd seen you come in here. Have you seen..," He stopped, verbally stumbling upon seeing that the Jaffa was not, as he thought, alone. "Hello, Evree."

There was a long silence while Jack and Evree just stood, facing each other, but not exactly looking at each other. Since they were not looking at him, either, Teal'c made a silent exit. He did not believe that his presence was needed any further.

It was O'Neill that finally broke the silence. "You've been crying again," he said gently. "Did Teal'c say something to upset you?"

Evree shook her head, not yet trusting her voice. She was caught up in a jumbled welter of emotions at the moment, and speech was temporarily beyond her powers.

"Then what?" O'Neill was honestly confused. She was back at SGC, safe and sound. Her children were hale and hearty, all forty-two of them. He really didn't have a clue as to why she should be upset. Or, for that matter, why she had been going to extreme measures to avoid his company. When she didn't immediately answer, he reached out and touched her face, brushing away an errant tear. "Was it something that I said?"

"I cannot believe that you would wish to see me after the way I embarrassed you upon our return," Evree muttered, eyes still cast downward. "I am sorry, O'Neill."

"You didn't embarrass me," he lied, then, honesty compelled him to add. "Well, not that much. And no one ever died of embarrassment. Is that why you've been playing hide and seek with me?"

"I was trying to hide," Evree admitted ruefully, at long last allowing her eyes to meet his. "I am a Goa'uld, and a 'pain in the ass'. And yet, I find out that you volunteered to rescue someone who is 'more trouble than she is worth'."

Jack winced at that one, he was kind of hoping that she'd forgotten about those careless words, spoken in the heat of the moment. But he should have found her and apologized for them anyway, even if she had forgotten. "Evree," he started, then stopped and cleared his throat, and tried again. "Listen, my mouth sometimes kind of leads a life of its own. It's definitely gotten me into more trouble than anything I've ever done." As apologies went, that sucked. Start over. "I shouldn't have said that," he muttered, forcing himself to keep looking at her, though he was far more embarrassed now than he had been when she'd cried on his shoulder. "I was tense and edgy and still kind of suspicious and I was taking it out on you, and I'm sorry."

"You are apologizing to me?" Evree was stunned. She stopped a moment to let it sink in. "Then you did not mean what you said?" That could have been a given, since he'd apologized for it, but she wasn't about to make any assumptions where O'Neill was concerned.

"Of course I didn't mean it," Jack snapped, the irritation that she had a gift for bringing out in him springing to the fore. "Okay, so maybe I did mean it, a little. But I shouldn't have said it." The memory of the look on her face when he had flashed before him in a detailed visual. "You looked at me like I'd hit you. Like I'd hurt you."

"It did hurt," Evree admitted quietly, turning away from him. "You had come to rescue me when I was feeling so hopeless that I was contemplating ending my existence. When you said that, it made me feel as though I was going to be responsible for your death as well. And Daniel's too," she added as an afterthought. "I felt as though I were truly as loathsome as all the other Goa'uld, using others merely for my own gain. I would rather have died than have done that to you, O'Neill. Or Daniel."

"You like Daniel, don't you?" It might have been him that she seemed to turn to when the chips were down, but she had always seemed to be more comfortable with Daniel.

"Aside from Draylea, or maybe not," Evree replied. "Daniel is the first person who ever offered me friendship without being forced into it. I do like Daniel." With a few mental hints from her host, the import of the question sunk in. "But not the same way that I like you."

Jack was almost afraid to get his hopes up, and he groped for just the right words to say to find out, then decided to hell with words. They'd almost ruined everything. It was his actions that had drawn her to him, and he'd always been more a man of action anyway. He put his hands on her shoulders, gently, so as not to startle her, and turned her around to face him. Then, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

&&&&&&

Sam had been looking for Jack. She'd been brought up to speed on things by General Hammond and Daniel, but there were a few things that she wanted to ask O'Neill personally. She was passing by a conference room that she knew for a fact wasn't in use when she thought she heard Jack's voice inside. Curious, she opened the door. Then, almost as quickly, but with much more care, she shut it again and went on her way. Her questions could wait.

&&&&&&

"Did I do that correctly?" Evree asked. "All I know of kissing I saw on the television. I did not know about using tongues."

"You did fine," Jack said quickly. Damn, she could come up with the awkward statements. "But before we progress beyond kissing, if we do, I think we need some time to do some serious talking."

Evree nodded. "I think I understand," she murmured. "We are so very unlike. We need to understand one another."

"Well, now we've got the time for it," O'Neill replied. He looked down at her, and didn't really feel like talking at the moment. "But maybe it could wait until later," he added, bending his head down towards hers again.

Finis


End file.
